Avengers: United We Stand
by Maestro Hazard
Summary: A single choice can have far reaching consequences. On Earth-199999, what we know as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Avengers went their separate ways after the Battle of New York. But this story is about a different Earth. One where the team made a different choice. Welcome to Earth-200K, Where a single choice changes the entire MCU forever.
1. Chapter 1: The Horseshoe Nail

**A/N: I know, I know. I have a long fic already. And a second one fully outlined and planned that no one but my wife and Marcus S Lazarus has seen or even heard about. But this fic was inspired by a simple premise. A "What If" scenario that wouldn't leave my head. A seemingly simple question that spawned what will be a MASSIVE fic. That question?**

" **What if, rather than split, the Avengers had stayed together after capturing Loki?"**

 **Now, I know why they don't stay together all the time in the comics and movies. Splitting the team means more sales from the individual stories, and having that much talent for every movie would see the budget spike exponentially. So in the end, it all comes down to the almighty dollar. But I don't have that problem. Word processors and fanfiction are free. So I decided to go for it.**

 **I had to figure out a linchpin that could cause such a change, and in my research, I found it. The Iron Man 3 Prelude comic, where Rhodey arrives while the Avengers are at the shawarma place. All it would take was a single sentence, something that Rhodey DIDN'T say but COULD have based on his character interactions with Tony in the past, and I was off to the races.**

 **This is the result of that. I hope you enjoy. Welcome to my newest universe folks. Earth-200K, to use Marvel terminology. It's gonna be a wild ride.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**

Chapter One: The Horseshoe Nail

Throughout the Multiverse, there exist nigh infinite possibilities. Multiple realities that can be very similar, or very different, depending on how closely related they are. Some realities feature a mad being in a blue box traveling through Time and Space, while others have siblings (usually brothers, but not always) who defend humanity from things that go bump in the night, aided and abetted by their angel buddy and a demon. And still others, are the worlds of superheroes.

This reality is one such universe, filled with superheroes and villains that inspire and terrify. In one universe similar to this one, the Main Comparative Universe (MCU for short), designated Earth-199999, a group of these heroes banded together in a team known as the Avengers. After their first battle, that group went their separate ways, only rejoining each other when a drastic need arose.

In this universe, however, something else occurred for the Avengers. It's been said that, for want of a horseshoe nail, the war was lost. In this universe, designated Earth-200K, the proverbial horseshoe nail, a single thought spoken aloud, was not only found, but used.

 **UWSUWSUWSUWS**

The Avengers were silently eating, exhausted from the battle they had managed to win, even if the cost was still being counted. It had been close, for all of them, but they had done it. They occasionally looked at each other, but no words were spoken. Whether it was the exhaustion or the fact that the group hadn't truly spent that much time together was unknown, but before the reason why could be considered for too long, a sound interrupted their meal. A sonic boom shook the air, followed quickly by the sound of something coming to land outside. The group tensed up, Cap reaching for his shield, before Tony waved them back into their seats. "Relax old-timer. I recognize that sound. It's a friend." Tony called out as the door to the restaurant opened, revealing a black and gray version of the Iron Man suits, this one sparking in various places, damage obvious but still carrying plenty of weapons. "Rhodes! Pull up a chair."

"Tony? I saw the damage outside. What the hell happened here man?" Rhodey's helmet visor started opening, but froze halfway as the suit fully shut down.

"I should ask you the same thing."

"I was hunting down a Ten Rings group, the suit took a few hits and there were micro-fractures throughout. Probably didn't help that I just about killed the repulsors pushing them to get me here ASAP." The suit opened as Rhodey explained, allowing him to step out and take a good look at the others around the table. "Now, I repeat my previous question, and add another. What happened, and who are your friends?"

"Well, as for these fine folks, you may recognize Miss Rushman from her time at Stark Industries. Her real name...I'm not sure actually. But she goes by Natasha Romanoff, and she's an agent of SHIELD, code-name Black Widow. So is the guy next to her, Agent Clint Barton, code-name Hawkeye." Natasha glared slightly over at Stark while Clint raised a hand at Rhodey, waving tiredly. "The scruffy guy to my left here is Bruce Banner, a brilliant mind on par with my own, specializing in gamma radiation and biology, and turning into a green rage monster known as the Hulk." Rhodey turned a surprised glance to the other man, who hand simply put his head in his hand as an almost reluctant smile seemed to be on his face. Rhodey had heard of Banner, anyone in the military had considering how much Thunderbolt Ross had been requesting help to look for him over the last few years. "The man who escaped from the Ren Fair on my right is an Asgardian, goes by Thor. Not sure if your security clearance would have let you know before hand but it was him that stopped that rock-em sock-em robot attack in New Mexico."

"The Destroyer was no simple robot, Man of Iron. It was a creation of magic and science combined, controlled from the throne of Asgard." Thor smiled, clapping a hand on Tony's shoulder, making Rhodey wince since he knew Tony's aversion to uninvited touch ever since Stane had left him to die in Malibu. "T'was a mighty battle indeed!"

Tony tensed for a half moment before he shrugged off Thor, regaining his composure as he smirked at Rhodey. "And, if I remember one of your heroes correctly from our years of friendship, you should recognize Old Glory over there." Tony turned and offered one of his mock salutes to the last man at the table. Rhodey was about to berate him again, knowing that Tony used to do those fake salutes just to mess with Rhodey's head, before what was said registered and he turned, taking in the site of the man more closely.

"Wait...Captain Rogers? _Captain America_?" Rhodey knew that Tony would tease him for the way his voiced got a little high pitched there at the end, but he couldn't help it.

The smirk on Tony's face let Rhodey know that he was dead on in that assessment, but that he was saving it for later. "In the flesh, thawed from the ice where SHIELD found him. And they, along with the brilliant, stunning, fantastic-"

Steve cut in then, smirking as he did so. "Egotistical"

Natasha was next, and now that she spoke Rhodey definitely recognized her voice from his comms during the battle with Vanko. "Narcissistic"

The rest looked like they were about to join in before Tony glared around the group. "Next person to talk pays for the food, including Thor's." When no one rose to the bait, Tony's smirk returned, before he continued talking to Rhodey. "Anyway, they, and I, form The Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes. As for what happened? Alien invasion. We stopped it though."

Rhodey just waited, and when Tony seemed to not want to elaborate on that, he turned, looking outside at the crashed giant monstrosity stretched across two skyscrapers that was just visible in the window of the restaurant. "Okay, I'm gonna need a little more than that. Start talking Tony, from the beginning."

And so he did. Interspersed with comments from the others, such as Natasha recounting her recruitment of Bruce, eventually the whole story was told. Loki's arrival on Earth, his controlling of the other agents, including Barton, the theft of the Tesseract, the assault on the Helicarrier, and the Battle of New York.

"That's...that's quite a story Tony. If this was 5 years ago I would say you had drunk too much again." Rhodey shook his head, still trying to take it all in. "I'm glad you had a good team around to help. Something tells me this wasn't something Iron Man could handle on his own."

Tony, rather than respond to the comment with his usual brand of snark, sat back, his thinking face on. Rhodey turned towards Captain Rogers as he spoke up, seeing that Tony wasn't going to. "We did good, no doubt about that."

"Yeah. Yeah we did. We should do it again sometime." The group, Rhodey included, turned to take in Tony, who had that manic look in his eyes that Rhodey had come to associate with an idea that was either going to be genius, lunacy, or both. "We should stick together. All of us."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "All of us? You suddenly change your opinion on trusting me Stark?"

Tony either hadn't heard her or decided to ignore her. "The world just got a massive wake-up call. Not even SHIELD could cover this up. Not only are we not alone in the universe, but some of those others are definitely hostile, and like Fury said we are hilariously out-gunned. If they saw us, the group that protected them sticking together and continuing to do so? It might just keep things stable. You can all stay in the Tower, it's got plenty of space. Imagine it, a big shining beacon of hope for the world, with the ones who saved it together. The first line of defense."

"Or make a big target for any two bit threat or bad guy who wants to make a name for themselves. SHIELD teams operate in secret just to avoid that. Hell, the Helicarrier has cloaking tech because it would be too big a target otherwise." Clint leaned back in his chair, looking at Tony like he was crazy.

"Well yeah, but come on. Us together, we could take anything this world or any other throws at us. And, if they are gunning for us, they won't be gunning for innocents." Tony wasn't letting the idea go, which meant that he had decided already that it was something that had to happen. "You guys can't operate in the shadows anymore, too many people saw your faces. Not to mention, the fact that they were actually aliens in the sky, you can bet that video of ALL of us fighting will be all over social media and the web before long, if it isn't already."

Clint put a hand on Natasha's shoulder when the other agent went to comment. "He's actually got a point. We're known in some circles already. Add what happened here? I think we should try this, see what happens." Natasha nodded, conceding the point.

"Well, we couldn't do it right away. From what I saw, the Tower took a fair few hits. And there are some things I personally need to take care of on my own anyway." Steve spoke then, remembering the file he had showing Peggy was still alive, and the number that he had decided not to call yet, the image of both imprinted in his mind.

"And I cannot stay, even if the rest of you do. I must return Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard. The Nine Realms are under attack, and with the Bifrost damaged, the armies of Asgard have not been able to take on this group of Marauders, leaving them free to loot and pillage."

"Then how exactly did you get here Point Break?"

"My father, Odin, used a powerful energy source known as Dark Force, to forge a temporary connection between our realms. But it is dangerous, with a chance of both my death and his. I don't even know if he survived, though as I made the trip unscathed, I have hope that he did so. Regardless, it was a one way trip. I will have to use the Tesseract to make the return journey. We need its power to repair the Bifrost, allowing us to take on these fiends."

Tony nodded, but turned to Bruce, the only one who hadn't voiced an opinion yet. "What about you Banner?"

Bruce thought about it then shrugged, nodding his assent. "I don't exactly have anywhere else to go. It would be nice, being in a place I could work without worrying about Ross finding me again."

"See? Banner's on board. Come on guys, think about it." Tony pointed out to the wreckage of the city. "This? This is a PR nightmare. Aside from the death and destruction, people are going to be scrambling for answers, looking for who to blame and who to support. It may not devolve into disorder without us as figureheads, but it might. Protests, riots, looting, all of it. But not if we get ahead of it."

"I didn't think you cared about what people thought Stark." Cap had raised an eyebrow now, a hint of respect mingled with genuine curiosity in his eyes.

"I used to not. Then a man saved my life at the cost of his own. Tends to change a person. Ever since I put on the suit to defend people, I knew what I had to do. And this? This is something else I have to do. Something /we/ have to do. Hell Cap, you of all people should know the power of a symbol. My dad used to play "Star-Spangled Man With a Plan" every July 4th. Tell me I'm wrong, that the world couldn't use something to rally behind right now."

Steve just shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed at the reminder of the USO shows he used to do. "I can't. It would definitely help." He sighed, before grinning. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah. It sounds like a good idea. Once you get the place rebuilt, I'm in."

"Agents? How about you two?"

Clint and Natasha turned, speaking silently through looks, expressions, and minuscule gestures, before Clint turned to Tony. "I'll probably have to go through a few months of psych eval and other things, but...yeah, provided this doesn't blow up in our faces and we get approval from our superiors, we're in."

Tony clapped gleefully, turning to Thor. "And you big guy? I'd love to study how you're able to control and channel lightning and energy. If nothing else, my suit heard you tell Loki that Earth was under your protection. It would be a lot easier to protect if you were here instead of outer space or another dimension, whatever and wherever Asgard actually is."

"You make a fine point Stark. But I have responsibilities to Asgard, and the other Realms. I will have to discuss it with my friends and family back on Asgard before I can give you an answer."

"Fair enough." Tony turned, taking in Rhodey who had been mostly silent through this exchange. "What about you Rhodes? Another fighter would be a good addition, especially one familiar with my tech."

"What? Tony...I appreciate it man, but I wasn't part of this group. If it's about making a symbol, you sure you want to add someone new to it for people to question?"

"You've been taking out the Ten Rings for _months._ And I bet having you there would soothe some of the DOD people as well. Plus, I know you. If you could have been here to help instead of stuck in Hong Kong, you would have."

Rhodey nodded then, genuinely touched. "Damn right I would have. I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help you."

"Well, judging by the damage to the suit, you look like you saw your fair share of the action. What the hell did the Ten Rings hit you with?"

"One of Hammer's designs, a battle tank powered by a mini-reactor along with a fair few bits of your tech thrown in."

Tony's eyes narrowed, and long years of knowing him let Rhodey know he was angry that his weapons designs were being used against innocents and people he cared about still, especially in the hands of the Ten Rings. "I thought I had most of those missing shipments accounted for."

Surprisingly, it was Natasha that spoke next. "Everything on the books yeah. But from what SHIELD has been able to tell, Stane sent out several off the books shipments on top of the "missing/damaged" ones. A few months ago I was on a mission in Russia where someone had managed to build a Jericho from various parts and pieces from other shipments."

"And you and Fury didn't think I should know this?"

"We were handling it. Plus, after the World Security Council nixed the Avengers Initiative, they didn't exactly want us talking to you. Something about hitting on Malick's daughter a few years ago?"

Rhodey smirked, remembering that particular encounter. "Didn't you send her a horse as an apology?"

Tony glared at Rhodey before shrugging. "Fine. I'll have JARVIS go through the files I got later, see what else to do with my weapons they've been hiding."

Rhodey wondered at how Tony acquired those files, and then, knowing Tony, decided that he should have plausible deniability. And being Tony's friend, he wanted to offer another, possibly much more legal way. "Or you could ask Coulson." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew. The way the others tensed, eyes closed or soft intakes of breath. "Don't tell me."

Barton was the one to respond, voice tight. "Yeah. During the attack on the Helicarrier. Loki...he killed him during his escape."

Rhodey had seen friends and family of fallen soldiers. He knew it wouldn't help that much, but he wanted to say it anyway. "I'm sorry. He was a good man."

"Yeah. He was." Tony settled back into his chair, grief in his eyes. "He was a pain in the ass sometimes, but he was a good man. Better than most. Better than me."

Thor set aside his food, raising his glass instead. "The Son of Coul was a warrior. I did not have much time with him, but I consider him a friend. If it was his time, I think it is what he would have wanted. A nobler death I do not know. He fell in battle, fighting for what he believed was right."

Cap moved his own glass up. "He believed that the world needed a few old-fashioned ideas. He was wrong. What it needed, was more men like him."

Bruce was next. "I think I may have the least interaction with the man, but even I could tell he was one of the good guys."

Clint raised his glass too. "He was. The best damn handler I ever worked with. He never stopped believing in what SHIELD was about. Protecting the people. When you're an assassin, you can forget that sometimes. He never let me. And I'll always be grateful for that."

Natasha was last. "He, Fury, and Clint are the ones that gave me a chance. Where I was trained...they make you believe that what you are doing is important. That it's needed. That the Mission is all that matters. He showed me that it's not the Mission. It's the people. I've done...a lot of bad things. I told Loki that I've got Red in my ledger. Whatever bit of it I've managed to wipe out, was thanks to him."

"To Coulson." The group was silent for a moment, then started gathering their trash, as if the toast was the cue for them to leave. "Come on, back to the Tower. There should be enough places undisturbed for us all to rest while Fury deals with the old farts on the council. And _you_ , Thor, can tell me more about this Dark Force. It sounds like something my dad mentioned looking into once or twice..."

 **UWSUWSUWSUWS**

While Rhodey called in to his superiors and let them know that he had arrived safely in New York and would be staying there for a bit while the War Machine armor was repaired, Tony got in touch with JARVIS. The Mark VII, still damaged and not combat ready but flight capable, was routed to gather the remains of the War Machine armor and take it back to the Tower. Once they had paid and made sure the armor was secure and on its way, the group headed that way themselves. All around, they saw the devastation the Chitauri had wrought. Now, with the battle over, and the tunnel vision brought about by a fight for survival no longer present, it was much clearer to see. Agents of SHIELD were already on the ground, cataloging and gathering pieces of Chitauri tech and the bodies of the aliens themselves. Everywhere, there were bits of rubble, damaged buildings, destroyed cars, and more. As they closed in on the Tower, the damage increased. The Tower itself was mostly still intact, as Loki had wanted it to be the place he launched his take over from. But it was also the main entry point for the Chitauri, and they were not exactly discerning about the damage they did.

Stepping into the Lobby, the group looked around. Tony made his way to the stairwells, not trusting the elevators until he had a moment to assess the structural integrity of the tower. "We have a few basic rooms available on the lower floors, places that some of the SI people stayed while we built the Tower and organized the move of operations from California to here. They aren't the Ritz, but they'll wor-"

"TONY!"

The group turned at the shout, Cap raising his shield while Thor started to wind up his hammer, but Tony once again recognized the voice that had shouted and moved in front of the group, catching the speeding red-head that was the source of the shout. "Pepper!" Anything else Tony would have said was cut off as the two met, Pepper nearly tackling Tony into a hug. Behind her another man appeared, nodding at the group as he pulled a few bits of luggage with him. Tony nodded at the other man through the embrace with Pepper. "Happy, you alright?"

"I should be asking you that boss." The other man, Happy Hogan, looked around the Tower before raising an eyebrow. "You throw another party while we were gone?"

"Come on now Happy, you know the truth. If it had been one of my parties the Tower wouldn't be standing anymore."

Pepper pulled back, eyes bloodshot from tears even as they narrowed. "How can you joke about this? You nearly died! And don't you _DARE_ say you didn't because the news showed you taking a missile up through a giant _hole in the sky_ and then falling and that green...whatever it was catches you-"

"That was the Hulk. Good guy. And I tried to call you this time!"

Pepper's eyes softened and she hugged him tight again, sniffling slightly. "I know. I saw. I'm sorry. I had put it on silent during the meeting and forgot to take it off when we got on the plane."

"I figured." The two went silent, Tony cupping Pepper's cheek as the rest of the Avengers watched on, temporarily forgotten. It was a side of Tony Stark that they hadn't seen before. Not the sarcastic genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, but something else. Someone more genuine.

The only one who wasn't surprised was Natasha, who had seen this before. She knew Stark was capable of more. And even if she didn't believe in love for herself, it was nice to see it for others. The others were silent, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a private moment, but they needed to get settled and she needed to contact Fury and Hill, so Natasha cleared her throat softly, reminding the two that they weren't alone.

Tony gave her a halfhearted glare at the interruption, before turning back towards Hogan. "Hey, Happy? Take theses guys to the SI quarters yeah? They'll be staying with us overnight. I'm gonna design them all some proper rooms later." Happy raised an eyebrow in surprise but nodded, and the Avengers followed after him, leaving Rhodey, Tony, and Pepper alone in the lobby.

As they left, Rhodey turned, smirking at the surprised look on Pepper's face as she processed what Tony had said. He'd known them long enough that he was able to countdown in his head, timing Pepper's reaction down to the second. _3...2...1..._

"Anthony Edward Stark. Explain."

Tony put on his most press worthy innocent face and acted confused. "Explain what dear?"

Rhodey, who wanted an explanation himself, answered for her. "How about the fact that Tony 'Don't touch my stuff' Stark is now willingly opening his home to people he didn't know less than 48 hours ago, and then inviting those same people to live with him after he personally designs new rooms for them, and adding a place for me as well, when that offer hasn't been on the table before, even after years of friendship."

"Oh, that."

"Yes Tony, that."

When Tony didn't answer, Pepper turned his head, looking into his eyes. "Something happened. Something more than what I saw on the news, didn't it?"

Tony tensed up, eyes flicking back and forth between the two, before he sighed. "Loki. He attacked the Helicarrier. I was outside, trying to fix it, and I did. But while I was outside, Coulson...Loki stabbed him. He's gone."

Pepper gasped, hands flying to her mouth and new tears welling in her eyes. "Oh no. Not Phil."

Tony nodded and pulled Pepper back into a hug, holding tight as she cried. Rhodey was about to leave and give the two of them some time when Tony motioned for him to stay as he lead Pepper over to the waiting area here in the lobby, taking a seat on a couch that somehow survived the attack, pointing Rhodey down into a chair that was nearby as well, as he breathed deeply, the bravado and cockiness that Rhodey was used to no longer present. "It's my fault he's gone."

"Tony no, it's not-"

"Tony you can't blame yourself for Loki's-"

Tony raised a hand, cutting the two of them off before they could finish. "Yes it was. When Fury called us in...I bonded with Banner. He's a hot, brilliant scientist and therefore awesome, and we work together well. But my first encounter with Thor was a fight, one that Cap had to break up, and Cap and I rubbed each other the wrong way from the get go. Not to mention Natasha was there, which already had my hackles raised. If I hadn't gone in there with a chip on my shoulder, if we had bonded as a team and got the job done faster, Loki may not have been able to escape. And you, Rhodey, you may not have had to face a battle tank filled with my tech unprepared. Not if SHIELD had trusted me enough to let me know what they were doing instead of letting me think the weapons were all accounted for. Yes, I blame Fury for that, but part of that is on me too. On not making them think that I was trustworthy."

He sighed, sitting back as Rhodey and Pepper watched him, neither one speaking as Tony confided in them. "So that's why I invited them in. The Avengers can do a lot of good. But I want them here for far more selfish reasons as well. I want to keep you safe. Both of you, and Happy too. A team of heroes that the world respects and knows, who can look after each other, and each other's loved ones. I can't...I can't do it alone. Losing Agent taught me that. I will _not_ lose either of you. So if that means I have to have a bunch of people living nearby, or even in the same building, then I'll do it. No matter what."

"Then you have learned a lesson it took me hundreds of years to learn, Stark. Though I'm sorry the cost was so high." The three turned, seeing Thor had returned. "No one person, no matter their strength, can do everything."

"You know Point Break, for a big guy you can walk very softly when you need. How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you blame yourself far more than you should. The scepter Loki carried had an unknown power. Magic, science, perhaps a blending of the two. But whatever it was, it influenced your mind and actions. All of us were arguing when we should have been focusing on working together. A lesson I had already learned but the influence of the scepter made me forget."

"You're saying that it was the scepter's fault?"

"No. Loki's. He set out to break us apart, and attacked us in a way that we were unprepared for. And if you do not wish to accept that, then you must also accept that you are not the only one to have failed. I went after my brother and he fooled me with his magic, projecting an illusion that led to me being in the cell he had previously occupied. The Son of Coul tried to stop him dropping the cage with me in it. Had I not been fooled by Loki again, or been able to break out sooner, then he would still be living today."

Tony stood, needing to move, needing to not be sitting still, even as he listened to Thor talk. "So what, we don't take any blame? Everyone made mistakes so we just...we shift it all to Loki and just move on like nothing happened?"

"No my friend. We accept that we made our mistakes, and we work to ensure we do not do so again. We learn, we train, we repair. But we also realize that it was not our desire that lead to the destruction around us. It was not our plot that lead to the madness the scepter brought about in us. And it was not our hand that wielded the scepter when it laid our friend low. That is on Loki. And it is a crime that my brother will pay for upon our return to Asgard. I make solemn vow to you about this, as a Prince of Asgard. I will see it done."

Pepper placed her hand on Tony's arm, gently bringing him back down to sit with her again as he absorbed Thor's words. Rhodey looked on, concerned, as Tony seemed to be struggling to accept what Thor had said. Finally, Tony nodded, and it was as if a tension that they hadn't noticed had left him as he accepted that he wasn't responsible for Coulson's death, at least not him alone. "Repairs. I can do that."

"Of that I have no doubt." Thor's voice was soft and warm, rather than the booming baritone that Tony had heard on the battlefield. "You've already started by having us here. Which is the reason I came back after being shown my bed for the night. I would ask a boon of you, Stark."

Tony raised an eyebrow and smirked, his normal smart-ass tendencies resurfacing as he regained his equilibrium. "What, you need another pillow for your hammer?"

Thor laughed, even as he shook his head in denial. "Nay friend, Mjolnir will rest wherever I lay it. No, I would ask you to allow three others into your house, people dear to my heart. While I must be away attending to my duties on Asgard, I would ask you to keep them under your protection, so that I can battle safely without worry. Much as you would have our compatriots help you protect your friends."

Tony had been about to make a sarcastic comment about babysitting fees, until that last sentence. He was hoping that the Avengers being here would be a benefit to Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey. And Thor knew that. So it wasn't like he could say no without being a massive hypocrite, which was something he was trying to leave behind in his pre-Iron Man days. "Ah hell. Most of the team is scattering while the Tower is rebuilt. I suppose three people wouldn't be too much of a bother. Who are they?"

"Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and Darcy Lewis."

Tony's eyebrow rose again, in surprise this time. "Foster and Selvig I know. They've been leading the research on what brought you down to Earth. Entire new fields of astrophysics, or at least fields that have moved from the theoretical to the instrumental and experimental areas. Who's the other one?"

"A young woman, who seemed to act as Jane and Erik's apprentice. I believe Jane said she was an...intern?"

"Yeah, I think I remember the SHIELD reports mentioning her in the description of the New Mexico events. Sure, they can all stay. Be nice to have more geniuses in the building." Tony's eyes widened as he recalled the information in the SHIELD packet before his look turned positively gleeful. "Isn't Darcy the one who used a taser on you?"

Thor raised his hand and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as Rhodey and Pepper, both of whom had been unaware of this particular bit of information, couldn't help but let out a bit of laughter. "Indeed, she did. I admit, that was not exactly my greatest moment. And the attack was well deserved." Thor stood then, intending to head back to get some sleep. "Thank you for this, Stark. I should go rest. I must take the Tesseract and my brother back to Asgard early in the morning."

Pepper spoke then as Rhodey and Tony also stood to head to get some much deserved rest. "Wait, you're not going to stay until your friends get here?"

"Alas, I cannot. I must return to Asgard in order to protect the Realms from the Marauders who are even now assaulting the homes of my friends. The Tesseract is the only object that could allow us to repair the Bifrost quickly enough to make a difference."

"Oh. No wonder you wanted us to look after them. What did Dr. Foster say when you told her that?"

Thor looked at Pepper, a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes. "I haven't." Seeing Pepper narrow her eyes at him Thor once again had the feeling of impending doom he most often got around Lady Sif, particularly when he had said or done something that he was unaware of being considered rude. "I plan to return as soon as the Marauders are defeated, and the only reason that they have gained the victories that they have, is that the armies of Asgard have been unable to respond in a timely manner. I didn't think it necessary to leave a message, as I can't see the battles taking more than a few months after the Bifrost is repaired. I doubt I will be gone much more than a year, and for so short a time I didn't believe a message was required."

Pepper closed her eyes, calling on her years of dealing with Tony to keep her calm. "While that may not be long to you, for those of us on Earth, it is. You are going to come with me and we'll make a message for her. Tony, go and make yourself useful and find where Thor's friends are. Maybe we can get them on an express flight and have them here before Thor leaves anyway." Not waiting for a response from either man, she started to walk towards the stairwells, and Thor followed after, a bemused expression on his face as he passed between Tony and Rhodey. .

Tony watched them go before turning towards his friend, smirking. "You know, watching Pepper boss others around should not be as attractive as it is, and yet..."

"Too much information Tony. Too much information."

Tony laughed, one of the first genuine ones of the day, and pointed Rhodey towards the stairs as well. "Come on. I'll help you get settled and get the two SHIELD agents up there to see if they can find Thor's girlfriend and her coworkers."

 **UWSUWSUWSUW**

The next day, Bruce settled against the hood of Tony's massively modified Acura-SI car, being careful to stay away from the flares and the plasma countermeasures that Tony had warned him about, lest he accidentally set one off and bring out the Hulk. He looked over, intending to ask Tony a question but found the other man facing away from him, talking on the phone. Instead, Bruce looked back at the car, directing his concerns towards it. "Uh...JARVIS?"

The front window of the car lit up from within, a HUD displaying a scan of the area around the vehicle, along with status of the car and a display representing JARVIS' link to the vehicle. _**"Yes Dr. Banner?"**_

Bruce shook his head, still marveling at what Tony had accomplished in building JARVIS. Fully capable of passing the Turing Test, the only thing that limited JARVIS to being an artificial _intelligence_ rather than an artificial _person_ were the subroutines installed that meant he had to follow orders that Tony gave, meaning that his free will, while vast, still had limits. Tony had mentioned that he rarely, if ever, exercised that power, and JARVIS had learned and grown in such ways that he was able to find ways around it if he thought it was truly important. After the events of the Stark Expo, Tony had even installed an outright exemption to those subroutines, at the insistence of Pepper Potts, so Tony's orders could be ignored if JARVIS believed they were detrimental to Tony's health. Shaking his head to clear the stray thoughts, he once again focused on the image representing JARVIS. "Tony didn't forget to mention any other surprises he built into this thing, did he? I don't want to be leaning against something that might hold a Unibeam or a missile launcher like he hides in the armors."

" _ **The car itself has no weapons, though it is scan- and radar-shielded, along with being bullet proof and theft proof due to palm scanners on the wheel and its up-link to my servers. There is also a remote reconnaissance drone that launches from the rear of the vehicle. The drone is capable of self destruction, but requires a code from either myself or Mister Stark to activate, and can not do so while in the launch bay of the vehicle."**_

Bruce relaxed at that, and settled back onto the hood again, turning his attention across the northern part of the park that SHIELD had cordoned off for their use as Thor made preparations to take Loki back to Asgard. He felt the car shift as Tony joined him, sliding his phone back into his pocket as he lowered his sunglasses and gave a cheeky wave at the bound and restrained Loki, only to receive a glare in return. Tony turned, focusing his attention back on Bruce and ignoring Loki, which Bruce knew had the added benefit of getting under Loki's skin even more. "Talking about my creations behind my back Bruce? I'm hurt."

"More like making sure that you weren't going to suddenly have a taser pop out and stab me in the ass again. After letting Hulk loose for so long I don't think I would be able to restrain him as well as I did on the Helicarrier."

Tony laughed as he pulled his sunglasses completely off, sliding them into his shirt pocket. "Fair enough. By the way, Hawkeye and Widow should be here any second. They had a little trouble convincing our guest to come but he's on the way now."

Thor approached them then, pulling Loki with him. "We must depart soon my friends. Asgard and Loki's judgment await."

"Don't worry, they're on the way." A low rumble of sound filled the air and Tony turned, recognizing the sound of the car that he had lent the two SHIELD agents for the afternoon as it came around the corner, followed by Steve on a motorcycle.. "See? Gang's all here. And we even got a plus one to attend."

Sure enough, as Cap dismounted his bike, three people stepped out of the car. Natasha and Clint went around, settling against the side of the car while talking to each other, occasionally sending smirks and laughter Loki's way. The third figure though Bruce didn't recognize, but it was clear that Thor did as he practically flew forward to embrace the other man. "Erik! It is good to see you my friend."

Erik appeared startled at first, but slowly returned the embrace. "It's good to see you too Thor."

Thor stepped back, his eyes taking in Selvig's still haggard appearance. Bruce recognized at least part of what had the other scientist looking out of sorts, and it tallied with what Clint had told them of his time with Loki. The ones under Loki's control had not slept, their bodies being fed energy through the scepter somehow, but being human the energy wasn't a true replacement for dreams and sleep that humans needed to function, and after Loki had been stopped everyone that had been under his control had the same disheveled look. Hawkeye had slept for nearly 12 hours the previous night and had told them that it barely felt like enough. Erik, who had not been free of Loki's influence as long as Clint, would probably need more than a single night of recovery.

Thor apparently reached the same conclusion as the happy smile dropped from his face. "My friend...I am sorry. You did not deserve to have your mind and will stripped from you. None of you did. My brother will pay for his crimes, and the bindings I have placed on him prevent his magic from hurting anyone else. He can not escape, and I promise you, he will face justice."

Loki, his mouth covered, couldn't verbally respond, but he still made his derision known as he snorted through his nose and rolled his eyes, catching Erik's eye as Thor turned to glare at his brother. Erik slowly walked forward, his eyes locked on the captured god, and though his voice was quiet, it still carried to the Avengers watching around the two. Tony pulled his phone out again, pressing record on a camera app and angling towards the two as Erik built up a head of steam and berated Loki. "Loki. The would be king of us all. Look at you now. How does it feel, to be trapped? Contained? To have no way out? You who thought yourself above us just because of who you are, now brought to even lower than you had been. You're a prisoner, brought to heel by those you thought below you. How does it feel to know that even as you kept my mind captive I was still able to work around your orders and make a way for you to be beaten?"

Erik looked to be ready to continue his speech, but the anger he had built up was so intense that he didn't seem to be able to get the words out. Finally, rather than say anything else, Erik curled his hand into a fist and brought it about it a devastating right hook, sending Loki falling to the ground from the force of it.

Clint and Natasha watched as the blow landed, Natasha turning towards Clint as it did. "That's actually fairly good form."

Clint nodded, impressed with the punch as well. "And speaking from experience, cathartic as all hell."

Tony didn't comment directly, only cackled with glee before turning towards the car. "JARVIS, upload that to my private servers and then to YouTube please. Title it: 'Loki gets decked'."

" _ **As you wish sir."**_

Thor reached down, dragging Loki back to his feet and holding out the device he had brought that would direct the energy of the Tesseract, allowing the two of them to safely return to Asgard before he looked around at his friends. "Farewell, Avengers. We shall meet again." With a twist, the Tesseract activated, and in a blinding flash of rainbow light, Thor and Loki were gone, headed back to Asgard and away from Earth.

As Tony slid his phone back into his pocket again, Natasha pulled out her own phone and made a call, putting it on speaker so that the rest of the team could hear. "Director Fury, this is Black Widow. Loki and the Tesseract have both officially been contained and escorted back to Asgard by Thor."

" _That's good to hear Agent Romanoff. I'm currently aboard the Helicarrier, Hill is bringing it in to the dock for repairs. You and Barton report for debriefing by 1800 hours."_

Natasha raised her eyebrow at that before responding, curiosity clear in her voice. "Just the two of us sir? What about the rest of the Avengers?"

" _Hill asked me the same thing. Officially, Stark, and Banner are not under SHIELD authority, and therefore can do whatever they want. Captain Rogers, while he worked with us on this particular incident, is still officially on leave recovering from his time in the ice, and is therefore excused from debriefing and free to go back to whatever he wishes. As for you two, as far as I'm concerned you've all earned a break. Unless another Level 7 event happens, consider yourselves on leave after debriefing."_

Clint pumped a fist in victory even as Natasha rolled her eyes at him. "That's generous of you Director. Thank you."

" _You're welcome. Now I have to go brief the World Security Council about the battle and the repercussions of it."_

"You sound...oddly gleeful about that sir, considering how much you hate those calls."

" _That's because for once, I am. Seems that Gideon Malick was the one to push for launching a nuke at New York, and as such, the United Nations has decided that he no longer shall be serving on the WSC. And I get to be the one to inform him of this fact."_

Natasha smirked and Tony had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh as well, his glee at Malick's dismissal easy for the other Avengers to understand after they had heard Malick was why the Avengers Initiative had nearly been scrapped in the first place. "Enjoy yourself sir."

" _I shall Agent Romanoff. Fury out."_

As the call disconnected, Tony clapped his hands together, catching the eye of all the others. "Barton, Widow, Cap, you sure you three don't want to stay?"

Clint and Natasha both shook their heads, Clint speaking for them both. "After the debrief we both have things to do and people to see. But we'll come back Stark. Give SHIELD a shout when the Tower is ready."

"Roger that Legolas. Follow Bruce and I back to the Tower, and Happy will drive you to wherever you need to go afterwards. How about you Rogers?"

Steve had already started moving back towards his bike, shoulders set and determined as he got on and made to leave. "I'm with them Tony. Let us know when the Tower is ready and I'll come back. But I've got a girl waiting on me, and I've made her wait too long as it is." The group watched as Steve drove off before heading back to their vehicles, making their way back to the Tower.

What should have been a matter of minutes to drive ended up taking over an hour with the destruction and clean up going on around them. Tony, never one to sit still, constantly tapped his finger against the wheel, which would have normally been irritating to Bruce but now was just a source of amusement. Finally, Tony let out an explosive breath of frustration. "JARVIS, remind me to look over those files we hacked from SHIELD. I want to see if they ever made anything of dad's flying car tech, and take a look at their cloaking tech too. This traffic is ridiculous, and from what I know it won't improve much even when the clean up is done. If SI is moving out here, I want to be able to avoid it."

" _ **Note made and reminder set, Mister Stark. I'll have the relevant materials ready in your workshop at the Tower."**_

"Good. Also, make another note to talk to SHIELD about getting something set up to clean this up faster. Leaving alien tech out and about on the streets doesn't sit right with me. And if the Avengers have more battles like this, damage control both before and after is going to be a big part of it if I have anything to say."

" _ **Perhaps asking Miss Potts to arrange that would be better sir? I doubt that SHIELD would like to work on clean-up of advanced tech with the man who hacked their files on Phase Two technology."**_

"You doubt my charming personality J?"

" _ **No sir. I simply know you."**_

Bruce laughed out loud as Tony pouted, before finally reaching a place to get out of the flow of traffic and head directly for the Tower's garage. Upon arrival, JARVIS had already called for Happy, and he was waiting to take Clint and Natasha back to SHIELD. "Hope you've got some good music onboard Happy, the roads are a mess."

"Miss Potts arranged for me to get an advanced copy of _The Martian_ on audio-book sir, I'll be good."

Tony grinned and turned towards the agents and Selvig as they shifted out of the car they had driven in. "Doctor Selvig, did Thing 1 and Thing 2 tell you what Thor set-up?"

Natasha ignored the verbal jab as Clint let out an amused snort, having heard much worse names thrown at him throughout his career. The two loaded themselves into the car Happy indicated, even as Erik nodded before answering Tony's question. "Yes. They mentioned that he had asked you to let me stay here. I don't know if it's needed. I have a home, and a job teaching that I should be getting back to now that I won't be working on the Tesseract."

As the car with Hawkeye and Widow drove off, Tony shifted his attention fully to Erik. "Yeah, about that. SHIELD has probably told you you can't talk about everything, or even share the findings of your research outside of their control, or something to that effect right?"

Erik nodded again. "I figured as much when I first signed on."

"What if you didn't have those restrictions?"

"What?" Erik's face shifted from curiosity to confusion, his still sleep deprived brain not fully comprehending what Tony was telling him. "What do you mean?"

Tony pulled him over towards the other side of the garage, showing where his armor creation and fabrication set up was located. "I mean, what if you could continue your research, talk about what you find with some of the brightest minds on the planet, and do so in a rent free environment with all the best toys, either ordered or custom made, like my stuff there?" With the garage being underground, it had survived the Chitauri assault intact, with the equipment still in proper working order as Tony gestured around to it. "Stark Industries is the only name in clean energy right now. And with the arc reactor tech, we are only going to advance. I have the tools, now I need people using them."

"Are you offering me a job Stark?'

"A job, lab space, assistants, all the tech you need. And all of it custom designed and free of charge, provided you work with and for SI. Here at the Tower, I'm going to be redesigning the top floors to include lab and living space for the Avengers, and Thor asked me to offer you a space there, if you want it. We're doing the same for Dr. Foster, soon as we can get in touch with her."

Erik looked around again, the confusion on his face changing to one of intense interest as he considered the possibilities of what Stark was saying. Bruce had heard it all before, and even agreed to it already, with a few stipulations. "The offer is good Dr. Selvig, I've already accepted it. And you can stipulate that you have final say over what anything you discover or create is used for."

Selvig's eyes narrowed, taking in the other two. "Complete control, no selling or using anything I am able to find or make without my approval? Not even SHIELD will get it if I say no?"

Tony nodded, one of the very few times in his life that he was completely serious outside of the armors. "Complete control. After I found out my tech was used against the people it was supposedly saving, I made it a central part of any contract that SI offered anyone. I know what it's like to discover that something you thought of or created was given to others and turned against you or those you wanted to help, and I don't want that for anyone else. Pepper agreed to keep it as part of the policy once she took over as CEO. You can look over the contract before agreeing, but the offer for a place for the next few days stands, especially as Pepper is going to be having Dr. Foster brought here. The two of you could talk and decide together if you want."

Erik looked at the other two men, considering the offer before nodding again, his face determined. "Provided Jane agrees, I'll take it. I wasn't actually looking forward to going back to teaching. All the rules and laws that I have been teaching for years...now that I know what's out there, how many things can violate and disregard the laws of science as most know it? I want to know more. Crazy at it might sound, considering everything."

Tony grinned and headed for the elevators, JARVIS having finished a structural integrity scan that morning and finding they were secure to use. The other two followed after him as he started speaking again. "Sanity is overrated, in my humble opinion."

"Humble? You?"

"No insulting your new landlord Banner. JARVIS, wasn't that in the contract this time?"

" _ **No sir. Miss Potts said, and she asked me to quote her directly here, that 'Anyone who lives and/or works with Tony Stark needs to be free to insult and snark back at him without fear of reprisals.'"**_

Tony's mouth dropped open, looking completely nonplussed at the comment even as Bruce broke into laughter, Erik smirking a bit himself at the expression on Tony's face. Finally, Tony seemed to gather himself and glared at the camera in the elevator. "And where might Miss Potts be? I think I need to have a word with her about tenement contracts for my tower."

" _ **Miss Potts' is located in the lobby area sir, receiving another pair of guests."**_

The elevator began moving, taking the three men upwards towards the lobby area as Tony grumbled under his breath at Pepper undermining him. Bruce watched, amused and knowing that when they did find Pepper, that the discussion would invariably go her way rather than Tony's. Even being at the Tower a single night had already taught Bruce that lesson.

As the doors opened, Tony stepped out, catching sight of Pepper at the main reception area. Taking notice of the other two women in the area only enough so that he didn't run into them, he called out as he approached. "Pepper? What's this I hear about you changing the tenement contracts?"

Pepper turned, rolling her eyes at Tony as he approached. "Those contracts were a joke Tony. If nothing else, the people here are not going to call you 'Your royal genius, Lord Stark' no matter how much you like _Game of Thrones_."

Tony's look of ire changed to a pout, before he turned to the main screen behind the reception desk. "JARVIS, is anything of the original contract I wrote in there still?"

" _ **The creator control clause is still present, as is the restriction and penalties for divulging any intellectual property that is not under the signer's control. The rest however has been either modified or replaced entirely by Miss Potts."**_

Pepper smiled as Tony turned to her. "CEO. You were the one who decided to make those who rent lab space or living space here under the authority of Stark Industries to avoid SHIELD or someone else claiming jurisdiction. That means my word is final."

Bruce was resting against the desk now, his body shaking as he laughed. The other two women watched the byplay between Pepper and Tony in interest, one of them grinning as she popped her gum before she noticed Erik standing near Bruce. "Erik! We didn't expect to see you here. Last I heard SHIELD had you locked away in some uber-secret research base out in the Mojave."

Erik turned from watching Tony and Pepper argue quietly, recognizing the other two figures. "Jane! Darcy!"

As the three friends rushed to greet each other Tony turned to watch, his attention diverted by the three. "You found them?"

Pepper shook her head, smiling as she watched the three as well. "They found us. They had already started to make their way to the US even before we made contact, and I told them we would be able to get them in contact with Dr. Selvig."

"They know about the job and living space offer?"

"Not yet. I made sure Thor included that in his message though. I thought it would be nicer that way."

Tony shrugged, well used to letting Pepper handle things when it came to interacting with people. With few exceptions, he was much more comfortable with machines. Turning towards the monitor again, he called out to JARVIS, catching the attention of Jane, Darcy, and Erik as he did so. "JARVIS, bring up the big guy's message will ya?"

Without a word, the screen shifted from showing the SI logo to instead bringing up a video message. Jane gasped a bit as she saw Thor on the monitor there in front of her. Before she could ask what was going on, the message began to play. _"My dearest Jane, and Erik and Darcy of course. The Lady Potts helped me record this for you, so that you could know what was has kept me away, and will keep me away a while longer."_

The three watched as Thor explained everything that he had told the Avengers previously. About how his battle with Loki lead to the destruction of the Bifrost, and how with the Bifrost inoperable, he had been stranded on Asgard, unable to return. The rise of the raiders that were attacking the other realms, the Marauders, and how with the Bifrost no longer functioning, they had been able to attack and escape before the ships and armies of Asgard could respond, leaving the rest of the Nine Realms in chaos. How he had to leave and was unable to stay, as the recovering and return of the Tesseract to Asgard was required to end the threat and bring peace back to the Realms.

" _And so now I must return, and I can not delay, no matter how much I might wish to. I have asked Tony Stark to provide you all with houseroom while I am gone. Depending on how long the repairs take, it may be a year or slightly longer before I can return to Earth, though it may also be less time. And I do promise to return. I would have stayed now, had I a choice in the matter. I look forward to the day we can all be together again."_

The message ended there, Jane sniffling and smiling at the image before she turned and embraced Darcy. "He hadn't forgotten about us."

"What, you thought he had?"

Jane pulled back, raising an eyebrow at her intern. "You were the one who said that it had been a long time!"

"Yeah, but that didn't mean that he forgot you! It just meant that maybe he was stuck somewhere, and I was right, so HA!" Darcy smirked at her boss before turning around, looking over at Pepper and Tony again. "So, was he right? Can we crash here at Casa Stark?"

Tony nodded even as he started pulling Pepper away towards the elevators. "Yup, offer is legit. Ask Brucey boy and Dr. Selvig for details, and just let JARVIS know what you decide. Miss Potts and I need to go discuss arranging rooms for all the people that will be living here."

"We do?"

"Yes, we do. It's going to involve some major remodels, and I've already got a few ideas."

The two walked away as Bruce rolled his eyes, moving to join the other three and explain things to them with help from JARVIS. In his mind, in the part that he associated with the Other Guy, he felt a rumbling of contentment and anticipation. Although he still had trouble understanding the Hulk, Bruce thought he could understand the feelings this time. He didn't know what it was, but something told him that he was a part of something that was going to change everything. And he found himself looking forward to what the future might bring.

 **A/N Mark II: And there we have it. The Horseshoe Nail has been applied, and the universe has shifted. For those curious, I am planning on taking this throughout the MCU, hopefully at least through Avengers 4. While things will still start off the same and certain events WILL happen as they did in the movies, things are changing, and will be changing, slowly at first, but by the time we hit** _ **Winter Soldier**_ **and the end of** _ **Agents of SHIELD**_ **season one, it's going to go directions that I hope entertain and excite people.**

 **Enemies and Allies, both old and new, will be showing up, and will be pulled from the ENTIRE MCU, with the exception of** _ **Marvel's Inhumans**_ **as I did not watch, and from the sound of things it has had absolutely ZERO effect on the overall MCU. And while some argue that the Netflix shows have had the same effect, the way I'm planning to write this story, they will in this universe.**

 **Everything else, from the smallest information packet on a DVD Easter Egg to the big screen movies, will be included. Not just the movies or TV shows either, but the tie in comics as well for example. Even some promotional material that I like, as seen by the Acura car that Bruce was leaning against in this chapter. That's an actual, in canon car that Tony designed with Acura. In case you don't believe, or have questions about how I'm going to be doing things for this fic? Let me tell you, I have a 138 page outline so far.**

 **Yeah. I've got a lot of research done.**

 **For a quick recap, everything that happened BEFORE Rhodey arrived at the shawarma place happened as seen and described in the various media of the MCU. So the Phase One Movies, the** _ **Agent Carter**_ **TV show, and the stuff with the Guardians of the Galaxy characters HAS happened, and some of it will continue to happen. It will just happen off screen. The focus of this story will be the folks living and working out of Avengers Tower.**

 **Of course, it may turn out that it will be MORE than the Avengers living there, as shown by Darcy, Jane, and Erik now moving in. Want to know who else I plan to bring in? You'll have to keep an eye out.**

 **So let me know what you thought so far, and if you have any ideas or guesses about things that may or may not happen in the future, feel free to let me know! I've been known to reward eagle-eyed readers that spot clues and details that I put in as foreshadowing or world building with cameos or early chapter reads. Until the next time, I hope you've enjoyed this prologue, and are ready for the MCU as you know it to drastically change.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**


	2. Chapter 2: Moving Pains & Night Terrors

**A/N: Hello again. I hope you guys enjoyed the previous chapter. It's honestly a weird feeling for me to not have something to respond to now. I do usually start writing the chapter before the reviews have come in on the previous, but some reviews still come in before I send it off to folks for pre-reading, and I tend to use author notes to address any issues they bring up. Only having a couple of reviews so far, I wonder what you think of the story, or if you're just waiting for more to see how the story goes before commenting. Ah well, I guess I'll find out!**

 **This chapter is a bit of a setup chapter still, but it does begin showing how having the Avengers all together could conceivably begin changing things for the MCU, at least how I see it. Events here are drawn from the** _ **Iron Man 3 Prelude**_ **comic along with information taken from the** _ **Iron Man: The Coming of the Melter**_ **comic, with my own ideas built in.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**

Chapter Two: Moving Pains and Night Terrors

Steve rounded the corner, weaving around New York traffic as he made his way to Stark Tower. It was amazing what a few months had managed to accomplish. Back at the beginning of May, after the Chitauri had been stopped, he couldn't believe that the clean up would be this fast. Luckily however, thanks in part to SHIELD and Tony co-sponsoring a new department, the Department of Damage Control, the streets had been cleared of all Chitauri tech, and the reconstruction efforts were really speeding along. Considering it was only the first of August now, the amount of progress that had already been made really was extraordinary.

Slowing as he approached the Tower, he pulled off to the side of the road, taking in the sight before him. "Didn't expect that." He looked at the tower entrance, surprise on his face as he pushed the kickstand out and settled on the bike, taking the scene in. In front of the tower were a large group of people, and most of them seemed to be dressed up, in one way or another, as the Avengers. Some of them had fairly accurate looking costumes, with quality varied throughout. Others seemed to be be dressed in revealing versions of the outfits, such as the young woman with curly black hair that was dressed in an Iron Man themed bikini outfit that matched what he had seen from the Stark Expo videos online. He raised an eyebrow, realizing it wasn't just the women in skimpy outfits, as there was a rather muscular young man in a version of his outfit that seemed to have a lot of garter belts on it. His second eyebrow joined the first when another of the males, this one in furs and leggings and not much else, and carrying a hammer with an...interestingly shaped handle, swooped the one in the stars and garters into a deep kiss.

"Offending your tender sensibilities Cap?" Steve turned, the voice less exhausted than the last time he heard it but no less recognizable. Leaning against the wall in civilian clothing instead of her SHIELD uniform, a couple of dufflebags on the ground near her, was Natasha Romanoff. It took Steve a second to be sure, as the massive bubblegum bubble she had blown obscured her face for a moment, but when it popped she was grinning at him, and Steve returned the smile, moving to stand with her. "Not exactly a common sight from the 40's, after all."

"Not as openly no. But that's not what surprised me."

"Oh? Then what's got you shocked? The amount of skin the ladies are showing or the amount the men are?"

"Strike two. You're slipping, Widow. It wasn't either of those things."

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief, nodding at the same young woman in the Iron Man outfit that Steve had noticed earlier. "Call me Natasha. Is it the age then? Some of them are fairly young. I know public displays of affection tend to make people's eye turn away rather than be surprised like you, so I'm pretty sure it's not that."

"Strike three, and you're out, Natasha." Steve nodded towards the mass of people, moving, dancing, cheering, and laughing. "I'm surprised at them all being...dressed as us, I suppose. We were just doing a job."

Natasha let out a snort of laughter, shaking her head in what Steve guessed was surprised disbelief. "Not the answer I was expecting. You really don't get why they are dressed as us?" When Steve just gave her a look, Natasha pushed off the wall, waving an arm out across the city. "It's because of us that the world is still here and not under control of a megalomaniac with daddy issues. We're heroes to them Cap. Much as I hate to say it, and if you ever tell him I said this I will deny it, Tony was right. They rallied around us. Have you seen the PR stuff that Tony has been putting out?"

"Some of it. I've been traveling around the country the last few months, taking in the new world and visiting some of the families of the Commandos that are still around. Even if it was in passing, it was hard not to see it. Talk shows, news reports, even some action figures I think, though I only saw them in passing."

"Yeah. Designed and created by Stark Industries."

Steve shook his head, having seen it but still working on believing it. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"That they would be a good way to keep the positive aspects of the Avengers in the forefront of people's minds." Steve whipped around, hand moving to the side of his bike to grip his shield until he felt Natasha's hand on his arm, restraining him. Another man had come up to the two, taking Steve by surprise, though if the smirk on Natasha's face was anything to go by she had seen or heard whoever it was coming. "Sorry about that. You're Captain Rogers right? And I recognize Miss Rushman. Sorry, I mean Romanoff." The other man stuck his hand out towards Cap, an easy smile on his face. "We haven't been introduced yet. Harry Hogan, though most just call me Happy. I'm the head of Stark Industries security."

Steve relaxed as Natasha gave a minuscule nod, indicating that she recognized the man and that he was on the level. He reached his own hand forward, shaking Happy's hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you Mr. Hogan. What do you mean exactly?"

Happy's smile dropped a bit, his shoulders rising in a shrug. "You may have missed it depending on the news and talk shows you were watching, but despite the good you did, there are some that think that the Avengers and SHIELD should pay for everything, or be folding into the US military, or put in jail, or any number of ideas. Tony put out the toys as a way to counter that. The constant reminder that you guys saved the world every time the commercial for them plays is good press. And, from what I've heard Pepper and Tony talking about, the Heroes of New York toy-line is one of the highest selling products that SI has put out in years. Though Tony was a bit put out that the first wave of the Captain America figure outsold the Iron Man one."

Steve just shook his head, laughing softly as he imagined the ire of the other man at being outsold, even if he was the one making the money from it. Steve turned, looking at the crowd again and realizing that while he may not agree with the action, he couldn't deny the positive effects. The people there were on the Avengers side, and he of all people knew the value of public opinion after the USO tours. "And we're supposed to get through that without being spotted or mobbed?"

"No sir. That's what I'm here for. Mr. Stark saw you approaching when he was out for a fly in one of the armors, he sent me out to meet you and invite you to the private entrance to the garage in the back of the Tower. You're welcome to come as well Miss Romanoff."

Steve relaxed, the tension in his shoulders at having to make his way through the crowd releasing at the surprising thoughtfulness of Tony Stark. "That would be appreciated Mr. Hogan. Where should I take the bike to?"

"Happy, please. And just follow me. Tony lets the group up front stay, but the back drive is off limits. The first time they tried to go back there Tony had the ones out front evicted for the day. They quickly learned the limits." Happy nodded towards Natasha bags and she nodded, letting him pick one of them up as she grabbed the other and moved to put them into the back of the car Happy indicated.

Steve moved the kickstand back up and straddled his bike again, and was surprised when he felt Natasha slide in behind him. Looking back behind his shoulder at her he raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. When she only raised her own in return Steve went for the direct approach. 'Wouldn't you be more comfortable in the back of Mr. Hogan's car?"

"Last time that I was in a car with Happy, he got...distracted. I'd rather not take chances I don't have to." She wrapped her arms around Steve's waist, moving close enough that the balance point of the bike wouldn't be thrown off with the extra rider. "Think you can handle it Captain?"

Steve felt his face flush as she moved closer, but was determined not to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. So he merely shifted, handing her his helmet. "Something tells me that his distraction had to do with you."

"No idea what you mean. It's not my fault that someone stripping in the back of his car made him lose sight of the road." She grinned a decidedly wicked grin as she strapped the helmet on. "Considering Tony is his employer I figured he would be used to it by now."

Steve just shook his head again, moving to follow the car Happy had driven. At first, it looked like they were heading to the back of the Tower, as Happy had indicated, but they passed the entrance way and continued on to a parking garage a couple of blocks over. When they entered, Happy turned away from the ramp leading to the upper levels and instead headed down, swiping a badge to raise a gate to a lower lever. Once he was fully around the corner and out of sight of the levels above, he stopped, facing a plain bit of wall, and Steve felt Natasha tense up behind him, one of her hands moving towards his shield to presumably hand it to him if needed. Before Steve could call out and ask what the deal was, the wall opened, and a hidden passage headed back towards the Tower was revealed. Steve was impressed despite himself and resumed following the car, Natasha relaxing and wrapping her arms around him again as the passage dipped down below the street and then began rising again towards what he presumed was the garage area in the Tower. Sure enough, the passageway opened up to reveal a long line of cars and machines, presumably all Tony Stark's, and the man himself grinning at them from next to the same car he and Bruce had met the other Avengers in during the send off of Loki. As the car stopped and Cap pulled his bike into the spot that Tony indicated, Natasha slid off, taking off the helmet and handing it back to Steve with a nod of thanks.

"Well well, do the Avengers have their first love match? What will birdbrain say for you turning him in for a new model Agent Romanoff? Or are you in one of those non exclusive relationships I hear so much about around the net these days"

Natasha rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and facing down Stark as he approached. "Clint and I were never dating Tony, exclusively or not." She smirked then, eyes showing some mischief as she choose her next words for maximum effect. "And Steve was just...giving me a fast ride."

Steve's tight control slipped and he dropped the helmet in his hands, letting it land on the floor with a loud crash as he blushed again, the helmet rolling over to rest at Tony's feet. He turned to find her directing a smirk at him now, having accomplished getting a rise out of him even as Tony burst out into laughter. "Really Natasha? That's what you give him to work with?"

She shrugged even as Tony collected himself and bent down to pick up the helmet, handing it over towards Steve who took it and put it to rest on the handlebars. "He was going to anyway."

"You know, she's not wrong. But I'll wait for the opportune moment." Tony turned, looking back down the passageway before returning his gaze to the other two Avengers as Happy closed the entrance to the garage. "Just you two? Barton change his mind?"

Natasha shook her head even as she pulled the bags Happy had taken for her out of the back of the car before moving to stand with the other men. "He passed the psych evals and physical qualification, but his direct superiors wanted him to finish a few assignments before he made a final choice one way or another."

Tony shrugged and moved towards the elevators again, the other following behind him. "Fair enough. Just have him give us a heads up so Happy can bring him in like you two were. That parking garage is SI property, and most of the employees of the Tower use it. We'll get you cards to access the bottom level later today. With the cosplay group outside, Pepper decided that a secure, hidden entrance for the Avengers would be a good idea to have. We keep the back entrance as a decoy, and a few times a week I'll drive a car out of it just to make sure the ruse is kept." He stopped talking, watching as Steve pulled a notebook out of his jacket and wrote down the word 'cosplay' on one of the pages. "A notebook? How analog can you get?"

"It helps me keep organized. And don't think that just because I use a notebook means I can't use computers. It's easier to sketch with a pencil and notebook, that's all."

"I'll have to get you one of the Stark tablets anyway, one of the artist variants, and see if I can change your mind. Bruce says hi as well, by the way. He's just in the middle of an experiment and can't stop it until later today, And Rhodey flew out yesterday on assignment." As the doors closed, Tony looked up at the camera in the corner. "Take us up J, first floor of the Avengers section above the Party Deck please."

" _ **As you wish sir."**_

The elevator began to rise, taking them up in the Tower as Tony started giving them a running commentary. "After the redesign, the Tower is 93 floors, and JARVIS is integrated into the entire building. You have any questions, need directions, the rooms are too hot or too cold, just speak and he'll hear you. Each floor has at least one visual interface to allow JARVIS' visual matrix to appear, but he is everywhere, with control of every camera, computer, and security system. And no, before you ask, while there are cameras everywhere else, your personal bedrooms and bathrooms have no cameras, just audio speakers and receivers. The garage you came in is restricted to the Avengers, Happy, and Pepper, but JARVIS can override if needed and you can bring someone in with you if needed as well. Aside from the cars, there's a mini-armory in case we are separated from the one up top, a shooting range, and my suit fabrication and storage bays, plus access to the arc reactor."

Steve nodded as he took the information in, impressed at the security. "And the rest of the tower?"

"The first 68 floors are for Stark Industries, with Pepper and I both having large offices on floor 68. They have everything needed to keep SI running from either coast, though the majority of SI is still run out of California at the moment. There are a few basic living areas there as well, like the ones you stayed in after the battle, and a few labs and research areas that are for SI projects or product planning."

"Like those toy versions of us?"

"Exactly like. Glad you've seen them." Tony either missed the disapproval in Steve's voice or was deciding to ignore it completely. Knowing the man, even as little as he did, Steve figured it was the latter. "But this elevator doesn't even stop on those floors. It's a direct line from the Avengers section to the garage. The Avengers have the top of the tower, starting at floor 69, I thank you." At the end, Tony's voice shifted into a British accent, and he waggled his eyes at Steve, causing the other man to roll his eyes.

Natasha did the same before turning towards Steve. "He's referencing a comedic movie character, a spy named-"

"Austin Powers, yeah. That one I know. One of the nephews of the family I stayed with while traveling across the country was a fan. Thought I might find it funny and easy to relate to since the guy went under cryogenic freezing and had to adjust to the new age he was in too." Steve chuckled at Tony's surprised look. "What, you think I was just going to whine about how things were so much better in my day, maybe refuse to adapt to the modern world?"

"Well...a bit yeah. Anyway, the first 11 floors, 69 through 79, are all lab spaces. Bruce and I both have one, as do a couple of others, namely Erik Selvig and Jane Foster, who live here as well now along with their assistant Darcy Lewis. The other seven labs are modular and can be adjusted and reconstructed as needs arise. One of them can even serve as a fully functioning operating theater if needed. Floor 80 is mine and Pepper's apartment for when we are living out here. I call it Winterfell. Because there must always be a Stark in Winterfell." Tony turned and regarded Steve again, as if waiting for a reaction.

Steve, in turned, looked over towards Natasha. "That one I didn't get."

"A book series, though he's probably referring to the HBO show that was based on the books. _Game of Thrones."_

Steve merely nodded and added it to the list as Tony rolled his eyes again at the appearance of the notebook before he continued with the description of the various floors. "The next floor is what I call the Party Deck. It's the overhanging balcony where Loki had the Tesseract portal device set up. Aside from being open air and a great place for parties, hence the name, I redesigned it and modified the structural stability, so it can even hold one of SHIELD's Mobile Ops planes now, thanks to some hidden extendable support struts."

Natasha turned, surprise briefly flashing across her eyes. "One of the airborne mobile command units? I've seen those Stark, even flew in a few. Those things are the size of a Boeing Globemaster."

Tony nodded with a grin. "Yup. The Party Deck is rated for everything up to a fully loaded Lockheed C-5 Galaxy now, though anything that wants to use it will need VTOL ability. I'm working on getting us a Quinjet, or just building one myself, but when Fury called and asked for the Stark Industries specs on the old mobile command units in preparation for upgrading them, I decided to make sure that, if needed, we could have one land here. It also has disassembly rigs that will work with my armors or the War Machine armor for Rhodey, even if the suits are designed not to need disassembly now and we can just step out and in them as needed."

As the elevator reached its destination and opened out onto a vast living area, Tony stepped out, waving his arms around the room. "This floor, 82, and the remaining ones are all living areas and planning rooms. This common area stretches up through the rest of the Tower, and as you can see, it gives us one hell of a view."

Steve could only nod, staring out at the New York skyline. The artist in him itched to pick up a pen and paper right that moment and capture the way the light reflected off the skyscrapers as the sun began it's descent. The various hues of silver, gold, blue, purple, red, and pink as the clouds refracted the light through the air and then reflected it across the metal and glass painted a beautiful tableau that he longed to capture. But there would be time for that. Shifting his bag over his shoulder again he turned towards Tony, indicating the doors he could see on the other side of the room. "And bedrooms through there?"

"That's actually the kitchen area, and next to it is the armory. I know that most of us will keep some of our stuff at hand, but for the rest there's plenty of space. This way to the bedrooms." Tony walked around the side of the elevator and Steve followed, feeling Natasha doing the same as Tony led them towards another area. "Each level is set up depending on what I thought we might need. There are a few unassigned rooms, some bigger, some smaller. And if you don't like what we have set up or think you'll need more space just let Pepper or JARVIS know, we can figure out what to change or where to move you. Some of them are already claimed though. Like Rhodey's, since it has a separate, smaller balcony complete with its own disassembly rig"

Tony nodded to the first door they came to but passed by it, heading for one a bit further along. "That's Bruce's room there. But of you two, Widow's room is the first up." Pointing out the specific door, he looked over towards Natasha, smirking as his eyes flicked between her and Steve. "Ladies first. I would say age before beauty, but then Cap would win either way."

Rolling her eyes at Tony, she moved past Steve and pushed the door open. Tony gave Cap a push from where Steve had stopped, trying to work out if Tony had complimented or insulted him with that last statement, and the two men followed her in, looking around the room. The walls were a calming pale gray, with the curtains, bedspreads, and furniture accenting the room with their black wood-grain finish. Along one wall was an enormous vanity mirror and dresser, with accent lighting and a few empty wig stands, and on the other side of the vanity was a door that Steve presumed was a private bathroom. Natasha had set her bags down on the queen sized bed and then gone into the closet, which Steve could tell was enormous, even from his vantage point. Natasha stepped out and seemed genuinely surprised. "I wasn't exactly expecting this."

Tony shrugged, absently tapping at something on his phone. "What? You're a spy. I figured you would need a place that could store various disguises and outfits, plus the vanity for applying makeup and styling your hair. I remember those bouncy curls you used as Natalie." Tapping one last command in he gestured towards the bedside table. "Press your palm against the upper right corner."

Natasha raised an eyebrow but moved to do as instructed, and once her palm was flat against it a hidden screen activated, a green light scanning from the tip of her fingers down to the edge of her palm. A soft click sounded and the entire bedside table swung out, along with a portion of the wall, revealing a hidden safe. "Figure you'll want to keep a few weapons close at hand, just in case. That scanner will only work for you, and anyone you program in. Just have them press against the same area when the door is open and it will add their palm print to the accepted list. JARVIS can delete access as well, just press your palm against it and say what name you want deleted, he'll do the rest."

Natasha moved towards her bags and removed a pair of pistols and then lifted her sleeves to remove her taser wrist guards, what Steve had heard her call the Widow's Bite, and then placed them into the safe after checking to make sure they were cleared and unloaded. Once she had closed the door, the latches securing with a muted thunk, she tugged on the bedside table, finding it wouldn't budge at all. Satisfied that her equipment was secure, she turned back and nodded, a satisfied look on her face. "Thank you Stark."

"Eh, don't mention it. Come on. Cap's next." Without another word Tony turned and walked out. Steve shared a look with Natasha before following the man again, curious about what his room might look like. Natasha's had been thoughtfully put together, in a way that Steve hadn't expected from the eccentric billionaire. It raised his opinion of the other man a bit more, at least until Tony waved him into the room that he assumed was his.

Then that opinion dropped again.

All across the room were memorabilia from his time as an USO show leader. The comics. The recruitment posters. Even the bedspread was based on the cover of the first comic that had been put out that showed him punching Hitler. The muted horror he felt was only increased as Tony flicked on the lights, and "Star Spangled Man With a Plan" began to play. Trying to put the best face he could on it, and intending to speak with Miss Potts at the first chance he could, he turned, plastering a fake grin on his face. "It's...something all right. Thanks."

Rather than any reaction he would have expected, Tony collapsed into a laughing fit, leaning against the door frame to support himself. Every time Tony managed to get control of himself, he caught Steve's eyes and dissolved into another bout of laughter, until finally, he was able to get his act together. "Oh man. Your face. Oh that was perfect. Totally worth the money to get this set up."

Steve sank onto the bed in relief. "Oh thank goodness."

Tony merely continued to chuckle before he gestured for the other two to follow him out of the room and up a flight of stairs to the next level. "Have a little faith in me Rogers. After seeing Widow's room, did you really think that I would design something like that for you as anything other than a joke?"

Steve merely raised an eyebrow as they approached another set of rooms. "Honestly, I think the shock of it was more effective than anything else. Promise me you didn't take any pictures of that, or if you did, that they won't be put up anywhere public."

Tony grinned and opened the next set of doors. "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies. Here's your actual rooms."

Steve was about to ask about the pictures again when the sight of the room caught his eye, and any thoughts of pictures of his surprise went out of his mind. The walls of the room were a dark shade of blue, and the furniture was all wood tone. It seemed to be the same size room as Natasha's, though where she had the vanity mirror set, along his wall was a window that faced a different direction than the one in the main common area, allowing a different though no less spectacular view of the skyline. A desk nearby held a computer and phone along with a stuffed leather chair which Steve could already imagine turning into a reading corner, or perhaps move towards the windows and make an art nook. When he looked at the phone he was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a rotary phone rather than one of the ones that had touch screens and no actual buttons or dials. The computer itself seemed to be a bit bigger than he was used to seeing from modern computers, and he turned towards Tony, nodding at the equipment in silent inquiry.

"A few years ago there was a market for retro tech. I found some older shells and gutted them, then added the latest Stark tech to it. Those will run as fast and work as well as anything in the modern market, but Pepper thought you might appreciate the feel of the old tech until you had gotten used to modern tech. But, if you have a better grasp than we thought, we can get you modern stuff too."

Steve shook his head, setting his bag on the bed as he turned back towards the other two. "No, but thank you Tony. This is much better. I felt like I might break some of the stuff I saw out there. Tell Miss Potts thank you for me as well."

"Don't mention it. Your bedside table has a weapon safe as well, though if what my dad said about his time with you and the Commandos was true you''ll probably never be too far from that shield unless you have to be, so there is a place to hook it there at the top of the bed's headboard." Tony cracked his knuckles and pulled out his tablet again, tapping away as he talked. "You two get settled, I've got work to do in the labs. Food's in the common area, or JARVIS has a list of takeout places that we've vetted as well."

Steve nodded and began unpacking his bag even as Natasha turned and headed back towards her rooms intent on doing the same, when Tony made no move to follow her, Steve just waited until Tony had finished whatever he was doing with the tablet. A slip of paper printed out of from the tablet and Tony moved to hand it to him. Steve looked down and saw a rather sizable dollar amount written on it, and raised an eyebrow at Tony. "You billing me for living here?"

"More like paying you. That's the money Stark Industries owes you for the use of your name and likeness for the Heroes of New York toys." Steve looked down again at the number, and then back to Tony. "What, you think I was keeping it all for myself? I've got Widow's here as well, I'll drop it off on my way to the labs. Bruce already has his. And Barton's I'll keep adding to until he gets here. Speaking of, you want checks, cash, or should we set you up a bank account for the rest of the royalties as people buy them?"

Steve just shook his head, moving the slip back towards Tony. "I appreciate the thought Tony, but I don't need this."

"Oh come on Cap. Use the money so you can decide what you want to do for yourself. I know Fury wants you to work for SHIELD. This way you have options."

Steve shook his head again. "No, Tony. Seriously. I don't need it. I'm covered." Seeing the other man raise his own eyebrow in disbelief, Steve smirked. "When I was traveling, I found out that Howard and Peggy had taken the money I had made from the various image fees and appearances, plus my salary as an Army Captain, and invested it in various things, including Stark Industries. I'm not as rich as you, but I'm well off enough. Even with how high prices are now, I could live 30 years off what I have right now, and the money is still building interest. Give it to charity or keep it as my thanks for putting this together."

The nonplussed look had returned to Tony's face, and though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Steve privately thought that it was hilarious on the other man's features. Finally, Tony seemed to pick up that Steve was amused at his expense and just shrugged. "Compromise. I'll have JARVIS pull together a list of charities and you can pick one or more to donate it to, that way I don't have to feel guilty about continuing to use your face to sell my toys. Any particular area you want to donate to?"

Steve thought about it, before his thoughts turned back towards the ideas he had earlier about the arts and reading corners he might want to create. "Are there any good art foundations you can recommend, or maybe a few libraries? They were a refuge for me during the Depression and I always wanted to give back if I could."

"J, you get that?"

" _ **Affirmative sir. Captain Rogers, I will have a list ready for your perusal shortly. Should I sort them by any other parameters?"**_

Steve turned at the unexpected voice before he remembered that Tony had said JARVIS had audio speakers and receivers in the bedrooms as well. "Um...Ones that if I donate the money to them, I can see what projects the money goes into. I don't want someone to pocket it when it's meant to help people. And if you could, check for any in Brooklyn specifically as well?"

" _ **Understood sir. I shall do background checks and research and have a set of options ready for you on your terminal in the morning."**_

"I appreciate it JARVIS." Steve turned back towards where Tony had been, only to see he had left the room while Steve and JARVIS had been talking. Shaking his head, he began unpacking his bag and moving to put things away. "There's a lot more to Tony Stark than I thought."

" _ **I find that most people who get to know Mister Stark, or rather, most people that Mister Stark allows to get to know him, feel the same sir. Shall I order you something for dinner?"**_

Steve shook his head before remembering there were speakers but no cameras, and instead answered aloud even as he moved towards the door. "No thank you JARVIS. I'll see what is available in the kitchen."

" _ **Very good sir. And, as Mister Stark seems to have forgotten, allow me to say welcome home."**_

 **UWSUWSUWSUW**

Natasha snapped awake, instantly alert as she took in her surroundings, her hand reaching under her pillow for the throwing dagger she had hidden there. The room was silent, the light from the streets below filtering up through the air and cast an LED glow across the room. She waited, taking silent, shallow breaths as she listened for what had awoken her. As she waited, she realized it wasn't a sound that had awoken her, but a feeling. A subtle vibration, not enough to move anything but enough that she had felt it through the floor and bed, repeating at regular intervals.

She moved towards the weapon safe, activating the controls and reaching in as soon as she could clear the swinging door and grabbed her guns and Widow's Bite. Checking the charge on the latter and loading the former, she ghosted out of her room, silently walking down towards the common area to see if she could determine the source of the vibration. As she reached the common room she listened, hearing someone moving out of her sight. She focused on the windows themselves, using the light and angle to try and get a reflection, until she was able to make out a familiar shape. Stepping around the corner she called out, getting the other man's attention. "You feel it too Cap?"

Steve turned, the shield ready to be launched until his reflexes caught up with his hearing and he recognized Natasha. Relaxing slightly, until the next subtle vibration had both of them tense again, he nodded at her. "Whatever is making that vibration woke me up."

"Same. Any idea what it might be?"

"That would be Tony." Natasha turned, raising her guns as Steve readied his shield again. The two relaxed as the one who had spoken stepped fully into the light, revealing it to be none other than Bruce Banner with his hands slightly raised. "Easy you two. The Other Guy likes you both, but he'd still come out if he felt threatened."

Steve relaxed, lowering his shield as Natasha put the safeties on her weapons again, slipping them into her holsters. "Dr. Banner. Those vibrations are Tony's work?"

Bruce relaxed as well, nodding and motioning the two over towards the couches along the window. "JARVIS told me you two were up and about, and he figured there was a reason. Tony mostly soundproofed his work station downstairs, but the vibrations still travel through. I guess because of your enhanced senses Captain, and because of you being...well, you, Agent Romanoff, that the vibrations were enough to wake you. I've gotten used to them, so have Jane, Darcy, and Erik."

Natasha sat on the armrest of the couch as Steve and Bruce sat down in chairs across from her. She looked around, locating a clock display that she could read and then raised an eyebrow at Bruce. "He's working on something at 3:43 in the morning? That's a late night, even for him."

Steve turned, looking at the clock himself before turning back towards Bruce, the need for an explanation in his eyes. "Care to fill us in Doctor?"

Bruce reached up, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose as he seemed to be choosing his words. "After the invasion, when we were first getting settled, Tony would disappear down to the garage a lot. We were still settling in ourselves so we didn't pay much mind to it at first. But at one point, Colonel Rhodes came up from the workshop and asked me if I had seen what Tony had been doing. Turns out, that he had been working on armors. A lot of them. He seemed to be nearly obsessed with making them, to the point that no one could get him to sleep, except Pepper, and even she isn't successful all the time. It's like he's afraid to stop and rest. And he won't talk about whatever is bothering him, to anyone, Pepper and JARVIS included."

Natasha wondered what could have affected Stark so much, as even when he thought he was dying he listened to and cared about Pepper. Before she could ask though, Steve slumped down, his own hand reaching up to mirror the motion that Bruce was doing as he rubbed his own forehead. "Of course."

"You have some insight here Steve?"

Steve nodded, leaning back against the back of the seat. "I think that, for all the bravado and sarcasm that Tony has cloaked himself in, and the suits he wears, either the armors or Armani, we forget that he's not used to this life."

Natasha turned, giving Cap her full attention as Bruce did the same. "He's been Iron Man for a long time Steve. Four years."

"And in those four years, how much help has he gotten for what comes after the fight?"

The question cut through Natasha's mind and she mentally reviewed everything that she had learned about Tony while she was undercover at Stark Industries and after the battle with Vanko and the Stark Expo. "He's been debriefed each time, by Coulson or Fury himself, if that's what you mean."

"I'm not talking about debriefing Natasha. I'm talking about the mental scars that come from fighting for your life and the life of others." Steve looked at the two of them, catching their eyes in turn as Natasha thought about what he was saying. "I saw it with the Commandos. After I broke them out of the HYDRA work camp, some of the men refused to sleep. They had seen what HYDRA was capable of, and it terrified them because when they went to sleep, their nightmares made them believe they were still in the camp. Eventually we got them some help and they were able to either put it behind them, or if they weren't, then Peggy arranged for them to be sent back home to get the help they need. We called it shell shock, but one of the families I visited said it was called something else now. Acute anxiety disorder, or in worse cases-"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Natasha finished Cap's thought for him as the pieces fell into place. For all the brash and bold front that Tony put on, she couldn't believe that she, or Coulson when he was alive, or Fury, hadn't connected the dots. "He was a civilian. He got kidnapped by the Ten Rings and since then he's had to fight for his life multiple times, and nearly died on at least five occasions that I can think of. "

Bruce nodded as well, taking in what the other two were saying. "It makes sense. Right now, I think it would be more acute anxiety rather than PTSD. I'm not that type of doctor, never had the temperament for it even before Hulk, but after the accident I read up as much as I could, hoping that there might be something I could use to help restrain or control him, so I know a little bit. But if he doesn't talk to _someone_ soon, then it may devolve into that."

Natasha nodded as if to herself and headed back towards the elevator, hearing the other two stand in surprise as she moved away from them. Steve called out as she pressed the call button. "Natasha? Where are you going?

Either because the elevator had already been there from Bruce coming up from his lab, or JARVIS anticipating her need, the doors opened almost instantly. As she stepped in and turned back towards the other two men, she smirked at them. "You said he needs to talk. I'm good at getting people to do that. Garage please JARVIS."

" _ **As you wish ma'am."**_

As the doors closed, she let out a small chuckle at the look on Steve and Bruce's face before she started planning what she was going to say and how she was going to say it. Realizing that she had been ignoring a resource, she turned towards the camera in the elevator, directing her comments towards it. "JARVIS? You keep an eye on things here, have you been watching out for Tony too?"

" _ **At the request of Miss Potts, and my own concern for his well-being, yes, I have."**_

"And your conclusion?"

" _ **After reviewing the past few months of data in light of Captain Rogers hypothesis, I believe the Captain to be correct. His behavior has been outside of parameters and more in-line with his actions when he was suffering from palladium poisoning. I checked his physical well being and aside from the damage done from lack of sleep he seemed to be in good health. None of us considered that he might be hiding something mentally wrong."**_

"Stark is good at that. Distracting you from the things he doesn't want you to see. And with those new subroutines Pepper insisted on, I can imagine him hiding it from you as well to make sure you didn't override him." As the elevator descended, she ran through scenarios in her mind, until she had come down to two options to get what she wanted. "How has Pepper been taking it?"

" _ **Miss Potts has been worried, and is currently upstairs, awake herself and awaiting Mr. Stark's return. Shall I ask her to join you?"**_

Natasha shook her head, her course of action decided with that last bit of intel. "I need him to drop his defenses. When it comes to me and Tony Stark, there's only one way to do that, and Pepper doesn't need to see it. But, if you could have her head to the common area, I think she will want to see Tony when we are done if things go how I want. When I get in there, can you lock it down until we have finished?"

" _ **I can, especially as I now believe that to not do so would be detrimental to Mister Stark's health and well being."**_

"Thank you."

" _ **It is I who should be thanking you Agent Romanoff."**_

"Thank me when it works." The elevator reached the bottom floor, and here the vibrations were more pronounced. She took a moment to memorize the pattern of them and then walked forward towards the armor fabrication area Tony had mentioned in their brief tour earlier. She saw him through the soundproofed glass, his back turned away from her and towards the armor that was currently being made. She took her guns out of their holsters and set them on the hood of one of Stark's cars, leaving the Widow's Bites on, just in case.

Once she was ready, she waited for the next set of vibrations and entered the room, using the sound as cover to hide her entrance and JARVIS locking down the armor area. When the machinery stopped, she waited just another moment before making her presence known. "Late night again Stark?"

Tony whipped around, the wrench in his hand being raised almost reflexively into a guard position as his wild eyes searched for the source of the voice. Taking in his appearance as he got himself back under control, Natasha noticed the bags under his eyes, the way he was breathing hard at the unexpected noise in his lab, the way his hand was tensed and shaking as it held the wrench like a weapon. All of it disappeared in a matter of seconds, but for someone like her, those seconds may as well have been an eternity.

"Romanoff. What are you doing down here? I know spies keep odd hours but still." Tony narrowed his eyes at her, and Natasha could practically see his thoughts racing as his grip tightened again, this time in suspicion and anger. "Or is that why you are here? Spying on me for Fury again?"

Natasha shook her head, leaning back against one of the work stations. "No spying, for Fury or otherwise."

"As if you would tell me if you were."

Natasha shrugged, not denying the point. "Believe what you want. I can tell you that he objected to the idea of me staying here. Or Barton. He didn't order us not to, but he made his objections known."

Tony scoffed and set the wrench down, crossing his arms in front of his chest defensively. "Of course he did. Let me guess, the old cyclops doesn't trust me, he's worried that I'll do something that gets someone hurt?"

"Along with other concerns, yes." Natasha didn't elaborate, merely shifting her weight and keeping her eyes on Stark, mentally deciding her plan of attack to get what she wanted while he turned away from her, trying to hide the hurt that comment caused but not being fast enough to do so. "I decided that I wanted to be here despite them, and Nick rarely orders me _not_ to do something, unless it will interfere with other missions."

"Oh yes. Because we get along so well. Come on Romanoff. What's your angle?"

Natasha shook her head, going for the honest truth for once. "No angle for living here. After the Chitauri, the world is changing. Clint and I need to change with it. This seemed like the best place to do that." She watched as his shoulders seemed to relax again, and decided to prod a bit, needing him to react a certain way if she had any hope of doing what she wanted. "Even with you here."

His shoulders tensed again immediately, his hand on the wrench going into a white knuckle grip. His voice was low as he spoke, not even turning around to face her. "And what the hell does that mean?"

Natasha waited a half moment, choosing her words for their best effect. "You tend to attract chaos Stark, and revel in the limelight that the destruction around you brings. Never satisfied with anything but center stage. Like I put in my report, classic narc-"

"Narcissist. I remember. I remember every damn word "

Tony still hadn't turned around, but Natasha could read his tone just as well as his face. He was right on the edge. He just needed another little push. "Of course you did, it was all about you. It's a wonder Pepper even stays-"

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING HER INTO THIS!" She was cut off again, this time by Tony rounding on her with his eyes blazing as he slammed his tools down on the table and moved right in front of Natasha's face. "You have no right. You abandoned her and she nearly died. You left her there. I trusted you to look after her, even after I found out you were spying on me, and you LEFT HER ALONE!"

Natasha leaned back, unafraid and unfazed. "And got you your best friend back. You'd have died if I hadn't overwritten Vanko's code. You're welcome, by the way." Natasha raised an eyebrow, figuring that Tony would brush aside her comments in his anger.

To her surprise though, he didn't. "Fair point. And yes, thank you for that. But you still don't get it. Even if I had fixed the palladium problem by that fight, I had resigned myself to dying already, and everything I did was about making sure she'd be safe! Letting Rhodey take the armor, giving her the CEO position at SI, drawing the drones away from the attack. It was all to protect her, and you just left her behind. So which one of us doesn't think about others Widow?"

That one stung a bit, as she genuinely liked Pepper, but Natasha didn't let it show. Instead, she just raised an eyebrow and pushed Tony out of her face. "Sit down Stark, before I make you sit down. Everything you do is for selfish reasons. Even inviting us all to live here. You want your people safe because _you_ can't handle losing them."

Tony merely glared, not backing down. "And there it is. That self righteous belief that you know me so well. Well then tell me Widow, why am I down here? If you know me so well, what is keeping me up here making all these armors huh?" Tony leaned back at her and smirked, daring her to tell him what she thought.

Natasha almost let a smirk out as she thought _'Got you'_ , but instead she merely nodded, and told Tony, once again, the unvarnished truth. "You're terrified." Before Tony could interrupt, she raised a hand, silencing him with a motion as she continued speaking. "You said it yourself. We are outgunned. You want to keep those you care for safe. But you want to keep others safe too. Your weapons caused massive damage to innocent lives and you feel responsible, even if you had no idea what Stane was doing. So you became Iron Man to make amends. But now it's not enough. People are placing responsibility on your shoulders. They trust Iron Man. They trust the Avengers. But you know that there are things out there stronger than us. Things that could take everything away. You see it, when you dream. So you stay awake, you work yourself to exhaustion. You come up with plans and designs and hope that when you finally rest, your imagination will have been so exhausted that your nightmares will have nothing new to work with, because your memories are bad enough."

Tony's jaw had dropped about halfway through, and as Natasha finished, he slumped backwards, landing in a chair that DUM-E had rolled over behind him. It took him a moment to collect himself, a moment Natasha let him have in silence, before he finally spoke. "You played me." Natasha nodded, not bothering to deny it. Tony narrowed his eyes before they widened again, and when he spoke his voice was no longer tinged with anger, but instead disbelief and a bit of hope. "You _know_." Natasha nodded again, already knowing what was coming next. "How?"

She moved, nodding as DUM-E and U brought over another chair for her as well, before settling her eyes back on Tony. "I'll tell you how, but you have to make a promise to me. You're going to hear about a place, a dangerous place. Don't look it up. Don't have JARVIS hunt down information on it. Let it stay buried where it belongs, in the past. Swear on anything and everything you hold dear, and then, I'll tell you." Once he nodded, Natasha started speaking again, looking at Tony without really seeing him as she became lost in memory. "You've heard me say I've got Red in my ledger. This place is why that Red is there. I was trained in a Russian program known as the Red Room. It was part of the Russian special forces teams, a counter to the SSR that they had witnessed from America in WWII with the Howling Commandos. Specialist operatives, typically women but not always, that were trained as master spies and assassins. We learned ballet, both as a cover and as physical training. Languages, marksmanship, espionage, seduction, anything and everything we might need to complete the Mission."

Natasha's voice turned scornful on that last word, and she was vaguely aware of Tony raising an eyebrow in surprise, even as the faces that haunted her nightmares flashed through her mind as she spoke. "I was one of the two best operatives ever to come out of there. I was the Black Widow long before I was found by SHIELD, and I was damn good at it. Men and women both tended to give me what the mission required and then suffered accidents. I was trained, though now I know it was brainwashing, to not think of any of them as people. They were only objectives. There may even be more innocent blood on my hands than you think is on yours."

Tony leaned forward then, and surprising them both, offered her a way out. "You don't have to tell me this."

"Yes, I do." Natasha collected herself and leaned back, her focus on him rather than her past once more. "Once SHIELD sent Clint after me...he saw something in me. Brought me to one of their facilities and got me learning SHIELD protocols under a supervisory officer. I went along, at first because I thought I could bring intel on SHIELD back to the Red Room to make up for not finishing the mission Clint interrupted. This S.O. though...she either saw the same thing Clint did or knew what to look for and how to use it. She broke me down, showed me the consequences of my actions in a way that no one in the Red Room ever would. Destruction, upheaval, death. Not just of my targets, but others completely unrelated. Men, women, children..." Here Natasha's voice choked up, and she took a deep breath, regaining the calm that she desperately needed. "Like I said. I know that memories are enough to give you nightmares."

Tony nodded, seeing for once that Natasha was being completely honest and not hiding anything. "She still around? I wouldn't mind meeting her, if she had this much of an effect."

Natasha shook her head, grateful that Tony wasn't bringing up her loss of control. "She's retired from field work now. But, what's important, is what happened next. I threw myself into missions for SHIELD, just like you did in making these armors. I didn't sleep unless I had no choice. I took mission after mission. Some, especially the Council, thought I was just doing it to prove myself. But my S.O. and Coulson both figured it out. She had him pull me from activity duty for a while, and brought me out into the world without a mission in mind. This time, she showed me what it meant to be a good person, not just a good asset. That yes, there are monsters in the dark, but that doesn't give us the right to become one. That _people_ are what's important. Not just the Mission."

Tony rested his chin on his hand, nodding in agreement even as he parsed what she had said. "You said your S.O. knew what you were doing, and it wasn't proving yourself. What was it?"

"I was looking to atone, and possibly die." Tony nearly fell out of his chair at that, and Natasha couldn't help but smirk at the flail he made to stay in the seat. It was a fleeting, but it was a needed moment of levity in such a discussion. "I didn't want to kill myself, but I knew that wouldn't make up for what I'd done. The only thing I could think of doing was take the riskier missions that were vital but dangerous, and if I died on one of those missions then so be it. Price to pay for my sins."

She let that sink in for a moment, the two sitting in silence before she continued. "When she helped me get over myself, I dedicated my life to the ideal that Coulson expressed was the foundation of SHIELD. Protection, for everyone. It's actually why I was so scathing in my review of you. You were feeling the same guilt I was, blaming yourself for what Stane had done, and instead of trying to help others, all I saw was you protecting your legacy and name." As Tony began rolling his eyes and starting to get defensive again, she spoke three words that she knew would knock the fight out of him. "I was wrong."

Tony had already raised his hand, one finger extended to catch her attention and his mouth open to counter her words, but that last admission left him floundering, his mouth opening and closing like a fish for a moment before he was able to form a question. "...Say that again?"

"I was wrong. In my experience, people don't really change unless something drastic happens. And even though you had been through something drastic, you resumed your flamboyant, attention seeking image right after." Here her voice turned a bit sarcastic as she recalled the press conference after the events with Stane. "Instead of what you were _supposed to say_ , you decided to ignore it for, what I thought was your own aggrandizement. 'I am Iron Man'. I'm surprised Fury didn't read you the riot act then and there."

Tony smirked, some of his confidence being restored at the reminder of the chaos his proclamation had caused. "He did, later that night. Worth it though."

Natasha raised her own finger, pointing it directly into Tony's face. "That. That right there. That was the attitude that made me think you hadn't changed. And so my report was biased through that view. But now, after carrying that nuke through the portal and seeing all this?" She waved her hand around the fabrication bay even as she caught the wince at the reminder of the trip through the portal, adding it to her mental file in support of what Steve had said. "After that, and this, I have a different theory. It's not that you don't care about anything but yourself. It's that you think nothing of yourself."

Tony was about to snark back at her, she could tell by the way he moved. She didn't say anything, merely raising her eyebrow and daring him to lie to her. Finally, he sat back and deflated, speaking softly. "Iron Man yes, Tony Stark no."

Natasha tilted her head, recognizing the final assessment she had made and knowing what he meant by it, but playing as if she didn't, needing that last bit to get him to talk. "Come again?"

"You're report. Iron Man yes, Tony Stark no. I offered to work for SHIELD, and Fury declined. He didn't want me, only my ideas. Story of my life, with the exception of Pepper. Even Rhodey, when I offered to bring him in on Iron Man before I was even calling it that, he told me to stop talking and get my mind right, and come back when I had some ideas to present to the DoD. At first, I was willing to let it go. I was Iron Man, I could handle anything. But then the Chitauri happened. And now..." Tony sighed, tilting his head back while Natasha stayed silent, waiting for him to admit what she knew already. "Now, I know I can't do it alone."

"Hence inviting us here. And the obsessive creation of all the armors?"

Tony glared at her halfheartedly. "You know already. Keep the nightmares away."

"Yes, but there's more than that. And just like my S.O. made me say it out loud, I want you to as well. It helps Tony. Trust me."

Tony huffed and was silent a moment before finally nodding, accepting that, based on what she had said earlier, she would know what she was talking about. "I can't let this stop me. I can't let it affect me as much as it is. Because the minute I show any weakness, that I stop being the Invincible Iron Man, everything will fall apart, and I'll be left alone again, and I can't do what I need to alone. Not anymore. If I'm going to keep people safe, keep Pepper and Rhodey and Happy safe, and you and the team safe ti watch out for everyone when I can't, I have to be alright."

Natasha nodded, before reaching out slowly, knowing his aversion to being touched unexpectedly. He tensed but didn't pull away, and she spoke as she placed her hand on top of his. "But, you're not alright."

Tony didn't react, and Natasha knew this was the final moment, where he could admit it and they could potentially get him help, or hide away again. Finally, he turned his hand over and squeezed hers in return. "No. I'm not."

"Want to know how to be?"

"Please."

"Talk. Talk to Pepper, to us. If that doesn't help, I'll get SHIELD to send someone down that's trained for it, someone who I'll vet to make sure they won't breach confidentiality agreements. You try to internalize it and keep it hidden like I did, and you'll only wind up hurting those you're trying to help. Pepper especially."

Tony straightened at that, his attention laser sharp once more as he removed his hand from hers. "What do you mean? She's asleep. I waited till she drifted off before coming down here so she wouldn't worry."

Rather than answer, Natasha turned towards one of the workstations, calling out as she did. "JARVIS, where is Pepper now?"

" _ **Currently, Miss Potts is talking with Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers in the common area. She arrived shortly after you made your way into the garage, Agent Romanoff."**_

"What? But...J, was she ever asleep?"

" _ **No sir, I don't believe so. She began moving about your chambers a few moments after you began work."**_

Tony gaped, then began moving towards the doors, stopping only when the lockdown JARVIS had initiated kept the door closed despite his attempts to open it. "Open up J, now."

" _ **Has Agent Romanoff made it clear that hiding from us is not the way to go about things, sir?"**_

Tony huffed, before turning, glaring without any real heat at Natasha. "You turned my AI against me."

Natasha scoffed and stood, moving towards the door herself. "Like I could. JARVIS is on your side Tony, even when you aren't. So, listen to the voices of reason. Are you going to follow my advice, preferably starting with Pepper tonight?"

Tony huffed again, but then nodded. "Yes. And I don't say this often, but thanks."

"You're welcome."

The silence after that stretched for a moment before JARVIS unlocked the door, allowing them both to leave. "Don't tell anyone I said that. It would ruin my image. Matter of fact, JARVIS? Delete all security footage and audio for the garage from the time Natasha exited the elevator until now."

" _ **As you wish sir."**_

Natasha merely smirked, noticing that he had used her first name for once instead of her last. Maybe, by coming down to help him, she had started healing the breech between her and him as well. Time would tell. She knew if she pointed it out though it would set things back, so she merely moved into the elevator with him. Part of getting people to talk, after all, was knowing when to be silent yourself.

 **A/N Mark II: And that's a wrap. I didn't get quite as far with this chapter as I originally intended, so I'll have to make some changes to my next chapter plans, mainly a scene or two with Pepper that I wanted to include in this one but it's a monster enough as it is. I think I can work the scenes I wanted into a flashback sequence near the beginning of next time, before moving on to the meat of the chapter, the events of** _ **Iron Man 3**_ **.**

 **Just a reminder, I'm focusing on the events of the MCU as it relates to the people on the Avengers roster and living at Avengers tower. That does NOT mean however, that I am ignoring the events of the rest of the MCU that are happening. For example, the fact that Coulson is alive is unknown to the team, so they will be referring to him in the past tense. Will that fact change? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. There will be changes. Small at first, little things that set off medium things. I can tell you that, by the time we get to** _ **Winter Soldier**_ **and the fall of SHIELD, the MCU as you know it will be VASTLY changed.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**


	3. Chapter 3: Hot Flashes

**A/N: This is odd for me, as I have started writing this chapter even before posting the next. At the moment, it's with my betas and awaiting feedback. That being said, I've been on a MCU kick lately, and watching everything all again from the beginning, so I figured why not keep writing while the character voices are prevalent in my mind.**

 **I did change my mind about one thing though. Originally, I was planning on having this chapter being the events of** _ **Iron Man 3**_ **, with the bits I wanted to show last time as flashbacks at the beginning of the chapter. However, I got a few different ideas in the meantime and decided to instead do this. Events here start near the end of the conversation between Tony and Natasha from last chapter, and then run parallel to the events of** _ **The Coming of the Melter**_ **comic.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**

Chapter Three: Hot Flashes

" _ **Miss Potts, if you are not going to sleep, I believe you would be best suited in heading to the common area. Captain Rogers and Doctor Banner are there awaiting your arrival."**_

Pepper looked up in surprise from the report of SI investments that she had been reading. When Tony had moved down to the garage again she had resolved to wait for him tonight and see if she could figure out why he was sneaking out to build instead of staying with her, and while waiting had decided to get some work done. She thought about questioning why she should leave, but instead moved towards the door as JARVIS had never led her wrong. Shrugging on a thick robe over her sleepwear, she decided to follow the AI's suggestion. "Thank you JARVIS. Could you get the reports about the latest toy-line sales ready for me?"

" _ **It will be waiting for you upon your return."**_

Pepper moved towards the elevator, barely even noticing that she didn't have to press the button now. With JARVIS fully integrated into the building after the redesign, it was becoming a common occurrence that he anticipated the needs of those living in the Avengers section. As she stepped in, the elevator began lifting the short distance between the two floors from her apartment with Tony to the common area. Stepping out she recognized the other two men sitting on the couch and moved to join them, stopping to grab a drink for herself along the way. "Bruce. Captain Rogers. I didn't expect to see you up this late."

"It's Steve, Miss Potts. And we weren't planning on it. The vibrations..."

Pepper sighed, nodding her head as she sat on a chair facing the other two. "Say no more. And it's Pepper."

Steve nodded as Bruce shifted, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes as he did, and from the short time that Pepper had known him she could tell he was thinking of the best way to say something uncomfortable. "About that...did you ever think about _why_ Tony was having trouble sleeping, and seemed to be working on the armors non-stop?"

Pepper set her cup down, a brief look of shock flashing across her face. "Well...no, not really. I was up tonight and planning on asking when he came back, but only because he waited till I was nearly asleep and then proceeded to sneak out. He was never exactly adverse to long nights working before, so I just thought he might have ideas he couldn't get out of his head. It's the hiding from me and sneaking around I have a problem with, not the work itself."

Bruce nodded, sitting back and letting Steve lean forward instead, and some part of her wondered if they had rehearsed the move because it was so in sync with each other. "He probably does ma'am. Have ideas he can't shake, I mean. But not in the way you might think." Steve sighed as Pepper tilted her head slightly in confusion, trying to parse what he was saying. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. When the vibrations woke up me and Natasha, we found Bruce out here. He explained what had been going on while we were away. Natasha didn't recognize it, but it reminded me of the Commandos who got a case of shell shock, and Bruce agrees it's probably a case of anxiety disorder."

Pepper started to laugh at what she saw as an absurd idea of Tony Stark, of all people, having anxiety, until she saw how deadly serious the two men were being, and their solemnity convinced her that this wasn't a joke. She thought back over the past weeks, running everything Tony had been doing and saying, or not as the case may be, along with what Rhodey had told her and the nightmares that Tony had on and off while they had been living together. Filtering everything through what, admittedly little, she knew about anxiety attacks and issues, her face paled and she tensed in her chair. "Oh. Oh, _God_ ,"

Bruce made a calming motion with his hands, putting his glasses back on as he spoke. "Now, it's...it's not as bad as it could be. Tony hasn't had any reactions in the labs while I've been with him that I've seen. It mostly seems to be restricted to his dreams."

"Which is why he doesn't sleep?"

"Exactly. But we've got to get Tony to talk about this, or it could spread out into the waking hours as well. If it evolves into a full blown case of PTSD, he could be flying in one of the suits, see something that triggers an attack, and that would be...bad."

Pepper narrowed her eyes at the way Bruce was shifting, her voice coming out more clipped than usual in response. "Define _bad_."

Surprisingly, it was Steve who answered her, and his voice was steady, even if tinged with a hint of past pain. "When I pulled the Commandos from HYDRA's work camp, there was one man...he seemed fine. But in one fight at one of their other factories, he saw something that set him off. He just...snapped, attacking an empty suit of armor, shooting it until the gun clicked empty. And then he jumped on it and punched it again and again. By the time I got to him, his knuckles were already bloody, and when I tried to pull him off the suit and get him back in the fight, he punched me. Broke his hand in two places. Nothing I did in that place could bring him out of whatever nightmare he was seeing, so I knocked him out and took him back to base. When he came to and was told what happened, he apologized to me profusely, promised it wouldn't happen again, but Colonel Phillips couldn't take the chance. He was sent home to recuperate. Now what happened was bad enough, losing his head in a fight could have endangered the whole operation, but if he hadn't have run out of bullets, would he have shot at me instead of punching me? Or one of the other Commandos, if they got to him first?"

Pepper could see the logic in what Steve was saying, but to imagine Tony losing control like that, especially in one of his armors... "I don't know what to say. How did I miss this?"

" _ **I feel the fault lies with me, ma'am"**_ The trio turned, seeing JARVIS' visual matrix appearing on one of the screens along the wall. _**"Had I not assumed that Mr. Stark's physical well being was all I needed to monitor, perhaps I would have been able to alert you before this point."**_

"JARVIS, you shouldn't blame yourself." Pepper sighed again, knowing that telling the AI not to blame himself would be an exercise in futility, but that it needed to be said anyway. Turning back towards the other two, she squared her shoulders and put her focus on Bruce, turning the same intensity that made her an effective CEO to Stark Industries towards this new issue that she was now aware of. "What do we do?"

"Agent Romanoff is talking to him downstairs, and she seemed pretty convinced that she could get him to admit needing help." Bruce looked a little skeptical about that prospect, and Pepper internally agreed. Tony asking for help was not likely to happen, but if anyone other than her or JARVIS could do it, it was Natasha. She'd seen what the other woman was capable of and knew to respect it. "If he—no, _when_ he talks, we have to identify what specifically is his trigger, and work to help him through it. Cognitive behavioral therapy shows the most promise, from what I remember of looking up methods to deal with the Hulk."

"And how does that work, exactly?"

Bruce leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands as he considered the question and tried to remember everything he could. "First, you identify whatever the source of the anxiety or trauma is, and how thoughts and feelings about the trigger create a feedback loop. A loop is, essentially, the mind spinning in on itself, the trigger setting them back into the source of the anxiety, over and over again, until it's a downward spiral. Shortness of breath, heart attacks, even believing that he's back at whatever caused the PTSD in the first place, and not seeing the world around him, like Cap's friend. At first, simply avoiding the trigger outside of therapy sessions helps, but that's a band-aid. Band-aids can fall off. Instead, CBT tries to help the patient change the way they think about the trigger – keep it from becoming so overwhelming that it leads into one of the attack-inducing loops." Bruce turned towards the screens again, calling out as he did. "I assume you've been looking up treatment and data, JARVIS. Would you say that was a good summary?"

" _ **I have Doctor Banner, and yes. That serves as a basic summation of treatment methods that I am able to access."**_

Pepper nodded, her resolve firm. "Well then, we'll do what we need to. Starting with him not flying in those armors anymore."

Steve shook his head as Pepper finished speaking. "That won't work." Before she could raise an objection, Steve continued, his voice firm as he made his point. "Tony and I are very different people. Some of that is because of how we were raised, and some of it is just intrinsic to who we are. But one thing that I know, now anyway, is that we are similar in one very important respect. We don't want others to do what we feel is our responsibility."

Pepper sat back, a rueful smile on her face. "A few years ago, I would have argued with you about that, but not anymore. What does that have to do with him going out as Iron Man?"

Steve frowned slightly, and it took him a bit to answer, seemingly considering his words carefully. "I read a lot, over the last few weeks. Mainly catching up on history to see what had happened to the world while I was asleep. And with the team files on the other Avengers that SHIELD provided, I know a bit more about what Tony has done than the general public. Including what happened with Stane."

Pepper couldn't stop the flash of anger across her face at the mention of that bastard. The way he had used Tony, used her...it made her sick to her stomach and filled her with a boiling rage still. "What Stane did was _not_ Tony's fault."

Steve raised a hand in a placating gesture, but his tone didn't change. "I never said it was. But Tony thinks it is. He created these weapons and he watched people get killed by them. People that he had designed the weapons to protect. Iron Man, I think, started out as penance for that. A way to make up for what had been done with his ideas. But it became more than that. The world seemed to stabilize a bit with Iron Man on the case. And I think...I think that woke something up in Tony. Specifically, a belief that I share. Those that have the _power and ability_ to make the world a better place have a _responsibility_ to do so. Regardless of the cost to ourselves. Tony is Iron Man, just like I'm Captain America. Where we differ is that he revels in it, while I'm still a bit uncomfortable with what it means to the world. I'm still just a kid from Brooklyn."

Steve's face contorted a bit into an expression of amused disbelief, presumably at how the world viewed him, before he continued. "But neither one of us could stop. We have the power. So we have the responsibility. To step away from it, no matter how we feel about the positions we hold? It's...oh, what's that word I heard Peggy say once? ...It's anathema to us."

Bruce chuckled as Steve finished talking, and nodded in agreement. "When we were on the Helicarrier, Tony was trying to get me to accept the Hulk, to not be afraid of him. He said that Hulk had saved my life, and that it was for a reason, just like what had happened with him and the Ten Rings. He said the arc reactor, and by extension Iron Man, was a 'terrible privilege'. He _is_ Iron Man. He can't stop that any more than Thor could stop being Asgardian."

Pepper considered what they were saying, wanting to argue with them but eventually conceding the point with a small slump of her shoulders. "I know."

They were all quiet for a moment, before Pepper admitted something that she hadn't even said to herself yet, let alone Tony. "I hate it. I _hate_ the suit. Tony has been in my life for years and I knew he had more to give the world than he thought, but...I despise those armors. Every time he goes out in one and fights? It scares me to death and I wanna scream. I'm so afraid that he won't come back one day, and all I'll have left is those empty tin cans..." She stopped then, her voice chocked with emotion as she struggled to get herself under control while Steve watched, sympathy in his eyes. "How do I deal with that?"

"The same way he will deal with his issues. Talk. Talk to him, and tell him all of this. Every bit of it. Far better to say what you need, then to leave it unsaid. Trust me, I'm something of an expert on that." Steve's eyes unfocused then, presumably lost in the past he had left behind, before he came back to the present. "And know that it's a process. You can't expect him to be perfect overnight. There may be nights that he still can't sleep, or that he has nightmares. You can be there for him in ways the rest of us can't, so... _be there_."

Pepper nodded, resolve restored as she accepted what Steve was saying. "I will. ...JARVIS? Is Tony still down in the lab?"

" _ **Mr. Stark is currently on the way up from the garage with Agent Romanoff. They should arrive here shortly."**_

Pepper stood and moved towards the elevator immediately, waiting for it to arrive. When it did and the doors opened, she could see that something was different about Tony. He seemed...more open, in a way she couldn't describe. Not caring about any of the others present, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight to her, tangling her fingers in his hair and kissing him deeply before pulling back. "Hi."

Tony blinked, and inwardly she smirked, loving the fact that she could drive one of the smartest men on the planet to speechlessness. As Natasha moved out of the elevator Pepper reached out towards her, stopping her progress while Tony recovered his higher mental functions. "Thank you, Natasha."

Natasha nodded, smiling softly before stepping out of the elevator fully and allowing Pepper to enter it, JARVIS closing the doors and taking them back down to their apartment. "We should talk." That snapped Tony out of his kiss induced haze, and he turned to her, resignation, fear, and a bit of weariness behind his eyes. "And no, not in a bad way. I thought that kiss would have made you realize I was sticking around."

Tony chuckled, the fear receding and replaced with a spark of love that he held specifically for her. "Sorry. I haven't heard those words in any _good_ context before...preceding kiss or not." He reached out for her hand and Pepper grabbed it, lacing their fingers together gently with a smile. "But you're right. We do need to talk. I...don't know where to start though."

"Where we should have started to begin with, Tony. At the beginning."

Tony smirked, and then let a bit of his sarcasm out as the elevator doors opened. "Well, in the beginning, there was the big bang..."

Pepper laughed and lightly slapped the back of his head. "Not _that_ beginning. I mean...Afghanistan."

Tony tensed and Pepper waited, watching what he would do. Whatever Natasha had said to him must have worked because he forced himself to relax, nodding at her softly. "You may not like what you hear."

"No, I may not. And you may not like what I have to say in return. But..." She leaned forward and kissed him again, less intense this time but no less filled with emotion. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for the long haul, Tony."

Tony nodded before setting himself on the bed. Pepper joined him, holding his hand and giving it a squeeze of comfort as Tony collected his thoughts and began to speak. "When I was in Afghanistan, it started off great. The presentation went well, and we were coming back to the base for me to fly back with Rhodey..."

 **UWSUWSUWSUW**

Tony, wearing the Mark VII armor, stepped out in front of Stark Tower, smiling at the crowd as he moved toward a podium that had been set up for the occasion. A week straight of six or more hours of sleep a night had done wonders for his mood and appearance, and he was once again the billionaire-genius-philanthropist, his smile wide and his voice lively. "Ladies, gentlemen, and others, of the press, welcome to Stark Tower." Tony looked out over the various reporters, the cosplay group temporarily moved. He smirked and shifted weight, the remodeled Mark VII armor slower to respond than usual thanks to the large cables attached to his back. "I'm sure you're wondering why I called you all here on this fine New York City morning. Well, it's to address some rumors, issues, and near slanderous accusations from certain geriatric Roxxon executives that shall remain nameless." There was a smattering of laughter through the crowd and Tony's smirk widened, the armor moving more freely now as the systems fully powered up. "With the refinements I've made to Stark Industries Clean Energy technology, Stark Tower is the only completely green skyscraper in New York, self sustaining and efficient. And yet, said nameless exec has lead a very public campaign against me, saying that the there is no way that SI has developed tech that is as powerful and efficient as coal and oil. Today, I am here to show you that he, and all the other naysayers, are wrong."

Tony tapped a gauntlet covered finger on the podium he stood behind, bringing up the specs for the tech he was showing off today along with a very specific part of his armor. "The schematics you see here, which you should have all gotten a copy of, showcase the brand new SI Solar Cells, the latest in clean energy production. How powerful are they? Well, allow me to direct your eyes to the other piece of today's exhibit."

The schematics disappeared leaving only the hologram of the arc reactor. "What you're seeing here is the arc reactor that normally powers the suit. You'll notice the black band surrounding it now." JARVIS highlighted the specific part as Tony moved away from the podium. "That band separates the armor from the arc reactor. And these cables on my back lead back to a set of the Stark Solar Cells. That's right, people – I'm powering the armor with nothing but the solar cells that Roxxon has claimed are just a publicity stunt."

"And we're just supposed to take your word for this?"

Tony narrowed his eyes, recognizing the voice and singling out the reporter who had asked the question. "Ah Miss Everhart. Still muckraking for _Vanity Fair_?"

"I'm actually here with WHiH, and I was never a muckraker, Stark."

Tony narrowed his eyes and sure enough, was just able to make out the television news logo on her microphone, leading him to shrug. "Huh, WHiH normally has higher standards than that. To answer your question, no, you don't have to take my word for it. I've got all the information in those packets I handed to you, and it's all been independently verified by multiple other scientists." Christine glared at the insult but didn't comment further, instead looking through the packet as Tony continued talking. "Now, the armor is almost fully charged, and once it is, I'll be giving you a demonstration that it is working at full function. So prepare yourselves, because in just a moment-"

"You'll see Iron Man rendered OBSOLETE!" A blast of energy lanced out, blasting through the cables providing power to the suit and knocking Tony to his knees as reporters scattered for cover. Tony dropped the face-plate of the armor, turning towards where JARVIS had identified the voice originating from. Flying above on what seemed to be jets reminiscent of his own repulsors, a figure was looking down at the chaos he had caused. He was wearing some form of suit, orange and black with energy sources being cataloged by JARVIS even as whoever this was continued to talk. "By the next generation of offensive weapons designed by me, the Melter!"

"...Really? The Melter, that's the best you could do?" Tony's HUD shifted to battle mode, and he launched into the air, wanting to keep this guy's attention on him rather than the people below. "You couldn't think of anything better? Hot Streak, Human Torch, Firestorm?" Tony raised his repulsors and fired, making the other man dive out of the way. "Oh, I know! How about Hot Air?"

There was a burst of disbelieving laughter from the reporters that had not managed to find cover, and what Tony could see of the other man's face contorted in rage. Instead of responding verbally however, the Melter fired a beam of energy at the reporters, making Tony dive in front of them and take the hit directly. "Huh, not bad. Concentrated heat beam, but this armor is designed to withstand reentry if needed-"

" _ **Sir, the armor systems are malfunctioning. Failure imminent."**_

Tony narrowed his eyes as warning signals began flashing and instead aimed a repulsor blast at the man, knocking him down and breaking the beam, allowing the rest of the reporters to get away or get under cover. Tony flew and grabbed the man by the chest piece he wore and dragged him further away, intending to drag him to a secluded spot when another warning flash lit up and he let go, the chest piece apparently able to channel the heat just like the hand beam the Melter was using. "Alright, fine. No direct contact." Tony dodged another beam as the Melter blasted at him, activating the external speakers again. "Missed me, Menopause Man."

"And who said I was aiming at you, Stark?" Without another word Tony was slammed to the ground, the big STARK nameplate on the entrance to the tower crashing into him. Between the malfunctioning systems and fact that the armor hadn't been fully charged to begin with, it was enough to leave Tony winded and down, the armor rebooting as the Melter turned towards the reporters again. "You just saw what I can do. But we live in a cynical world. You might think I got _lucky_. So, in the next few days, I'll hold another demonstration. After that, my technology goes on sale to the highest bidder. If you have what it takes to be a buyer, you'll hear from me, if you don't, you-"

Suddenly he was cut off, struck in the head by a very familiar shape. The hit was strong enough to knock the Melter's helmet off, leaving him glaring at the man who even now was catching the rebounding shield. Captain America and Black Widow both dropped from where they were hanging off the arms of a steadily descending armor, the Mark XX "Python" that Tony had finished a few days ago, presumably being piloted by JARVIS. Cap glowered at the Melter as he landed, allowing both the suit and Natasha to move towards Tony. "And I thought Loki liked to talk. Why not give up now, make it easier on all of us."

"Rogers. Another outdated relic of the Department, obsolete and pointless in the modern world. You weren't who I was planning on showing my weapons against, but you'll do just as well!"

While Cap began attacking the Melter, his lack of flight ability meaning he had trouble hitting the man but his enhanced speed and reflexes allowing him to dodge the heat beam and the shield taking what he couldn't avoid, Natasha moved over, helping Tony get the rubble off and stand. "You alright Tony?"

"I'll be better when I get to punch his face." Tony stepped out of the damaged armor as soon as enough space was cleared, moving quickly over to the Python suit. "Those heat blasts were enough to almost fry the suit, so stay out of range but if you get a shot take it. And call SHIELD, we're gonna need Damage Control." As Natasha nodded and moved to find a spot she could potentially get a bead on the Melter without getting hit by the blasts as the Python suit powered up. "J, give me the rundown."

" _ **The armor itself can handle the temperature put out by the heat, but because it's concentrated on a central point, the internal circuitry shuts down. With the integrated systems for faster response time, if one part shuts down, all of the system shuts down as well in order to reboot the overheated section."**_

"Damn. So hit him hard, hit him fast, and hit from a distance or we run the risk of him shutting us down. Options?"

" _ **The Python suit was never designed for combat sir. It was the only assembled armor that I was able to activate and deploy in time. Repulsors and the Unibeam are however, fully primed."**_

"Let's light him up." Tony launched into the air, raising both hands and firing a full powered repulsor blast that forced the Melter to dodge, leading him right into a shot from Steve's shield that cut through one of what JARVIS identified as power lines. The Melter dropped, his heat beams dissipating, but they quickly recovered, implying that the suit must have had back ups. Before Steve was able to retrieve his shield, the Melter fired directly at him, and Tony had no choice but to intercept the beam, leading the armor to start malfunctioning again. Steve attempted to intercede once he had the shield secured again, but something went wrong, causing him to have to jump away and drop the shield with a yell. He shook his hand and removed his glove, showing a visible burn on his hand.

Tony attempted to avoid the next blast. but with his worry over Cap, he was too slow. As both beams hit the same point just below the arc reactor, the armor systems shut down completely. "So you see! Iron Man and Captain America, defeated at my feet!" The Melter would have continued on, but he had made a critical error.

He had forgotten about Black Widow.

A shot rang out, piercing through the other power line and barely missing the Melter's face. The heat beams powered down and the man turned, glaring across the way to where Natasha was lining up another shot. He launched himself, his flight systems seemingly unaffected and he was quickly out of sight. Tony slowly stood as the armor reset itself, and he moved over towards Cap as Natasha joined them, raising his visor as he did so. "You missed him Romanoff."

"Clint is the sharpshooter. Not me. I prefer the personal touch." Natasha gave Tony a once over before nodding, seeing he was fine as the armor fully rebooted, then moved to check on Steve as Tony grabbed the shield, still too hot to touch without protection. "You alright, Captain?"

Steve nodded, shaking his hand out still. "The shield held just fine. It was just too hot. Started burning through the leather." He held his hand up, showing that the burn had already faded from an angry, scalded red to a more stable pink. "Should be gone by tonight., I think."

"Serum?"

Steve nodded. "Everything was enhanced. Metabolism, memory recall, immune system, healing..."

"I read what Dad wrote on the effects but to see it...peak human. What we could all eventually evolve into." Tony stared at Steve's hand even as the other man blushed a bit, before suddenly dropping the hand and then turning, priming a repulsor as a Quinjet landed nearby. He lowered his hand as he recognized the insignia on the side, and the people exiting it as SHIELD personnel. "Ah, the cavalry is here. Late, as usual. Romanoff, you think you and Capsicle can handle them? I want to get started analyzing what exactly that heat beam did to the armor and find a way to counter it, then find the asshole.."

"I got it, Tony. Go do your thing." Natasha turned and called out to the approaching agents. "Sitwell, we could use a medic to check out the Captain, and Damage Control will need a report ready..."

Natasha's voice faded as Tony flew up to the Party Deck, already dismissing the SHIELD Not-Agents from his mind. "J, get the rig ready, scan every piece as it comes in and prep the results down in the lab for me. And bring up the Mark VII and do the same."

" _ **Understood sir. Shall I also contact Miss Potts?"**_

"Probably a good idea." Tony began the walk out of the armor, allowing the rig to disassemble it piece by piece and prepare for post battle analysis. As he walked the rig reset and he could hear the sounds of JARVIS bringing up the Mark VII as he stepped inside and made for the elevator, attaching an ear piece as JARVIS connected him to Pepper. "Okay first, this was not my fault."

" _I leave for California for two days and you're already making a mess. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're hopeless without me."_ Under her sarcasm Tony could hear the genuine concern and worry, along with a touch of fond exasperation. _"Are you okay?"_

"Fit as a fiddle. The armor took the heat, just messed with the internal wiring. Gonna analyze and fix it before the next fight. Speaking of, I know the plan was for me to fly back to Malibu after the conference, but I want to stay around here and track this guy."

" _Can't you leave this for SHIELD, Tony? You almost got hurt – again. We talked about this."_

"Can't do that. This guy made a mock armor, and managed to get it to function. Even if you say he's not my responsibility, it feels like it is. Same as Stane's weapon shipments. Same as Vanko and Hammer"

" _I know. I know. Just...please be careful?"_

"Hey, it's me! I'm always careful." Pepper didn't dignify that with a response, other than a snort of disbelief, and Tony smirked. "Okay, fair point. I promise, I'll be as careful as I can be. I'll see you next week when you come back to the Tower.?

" _Alright. But the Tower, and you, better be there and in one piece when I get back."_

"Do my best. Stay safe, Pepper." After exchanging goodbyes, Tony texted Happy, letting him know of the change in plans and that he wanted security around Pepper increased till she was back safe at the Tower with the Avengers. Once he received an affirmative response from the man, Tony moved toward the elevator again, intending to get to work. "JARVIS, send all the scans of the parts of the armor that were hit by that heat ray to my work station down in the lab."

" _ **I'd recommend actually studying the scan diagnostics in the mission prep area of the common room sir."**_

"Okay...why?"

" _ **I believe you will find it far more conducive to your goals."**_

Tony shrugged and altered course, heading instead for the stairway connecting the Party Deck to the common room. As he took the steps two at a time he called out to the AI, opening the door to the other floor as he spoke. "Whatever, I can do my work on any...station...Huh."

Inside the mission prep area, several monitors were already up and running, Erik looking over one particular set of what appeared to be atmospheric readings and speaking into a headset. "That's good, Jane, systems up and running now. Come on down." She must have responded with some form of joke as Erik smiled and turned, catching sight of Tony as he did so. "Tony! JARVIS said that he would set you up at the central console. Jane should be down in a moment, and Darcy is making a coffee run for us."

Tony approached the other man, still a bit surprised to see him working and wondering why JARVIS had insisted he come here instead. "Uh...thanks. What's going on?"

Before Erik could answer, the roof access elevator opened up and Jane stepped out. Catching sight of Tony she began speaking a mile a minute. "Tony! Glad you're alright. Hey, why have I had to use my room's balcony for my equipment when you have such better stuff on the roof? I didn't recognize half of the systems up there! What is it?"

Tony blinked, nonplussed at the stream of consciousness from the other scientist before deciding to just go with it, knowing that he may not get his own questions answered if he didn't answer the hyper focused fellow genius. "A lot of SHIELD tech, upgraded by me. Payment for helping them upgrade a few mobile ops systems. There's enough radar and scanning systems up there that even a cloaked ship should register a ping on the Tower radar. With the Avengers moving in, we may be a big deterrent for anyone causing trouble, but the Legolas wannabe was right when he said it made us a target. I didn't want to be surprised by anyone, or anything."

Jane nodded, already moving towards the terminals she and Erik had commandeered. "Smart. Well, I added a few bits of my tech and we've already started getting readings. We should have a trajectory for you soon."

"Trajectory...what are you doing?"

Jane turned, a brief flash of surprise in her eyes. "Oh! Sorry, I though Erik would have told you."

Erik was smiling and apparently holding back laughter at Tony being on the receiving end of Hurricane Foster. "You came down before I had a chance."

"Well, I figure you're going after that Melter guy, so I'm using my atmospheric weather tracking programs to get a trajectory. The amount of heat that thing he was wearing was putting out should register on my equipment, and then combined with the stuff up there and JARVIS giving us access to one of SI satellites, we should have a cone of probability for you to track him down."

Accessing their terminals, she and Erik began analyzing data as the information started pouring in, adjusting and narrowing fields of possibility based on atmospheric disturbances. Tony blinked, once, then twice. Finally, with a shake of his head and a tiny pleased smile he moved towards the central console, speaking quietly enough that the other two wouldn't hear it but the earpiece connecting him to JARVIS would pick up. "Good call getting them involved, J."

" _ **On the contrary sir, Doctors Foster and Selvig came up with this plan on their own once Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff went to assist you. I merely provided the work area and directed them to the equipment needed. Shall I bring up preliminary findings on the armors?"**_

"Yeah, let's cool this hot head down. Show me what you got." Tony would think on what it meant that the others had so quickly thrown themselves into a situation that once would have just been his own problem later. For now, he had science to do.

The three worked in silence, joined by Darcy shortly as they worked through their information. Darcy, having learned of Tony's aversion to being touched unexpectedly, merely set his cup next to him, allowing him to pick it up at his leisure, before going to help Jane and Erik, having picked up a few things from them working as their assistant the last few years. Tony barely paid any attention to them, trusting them with what they were working on as he began work on preventing the armor shutting down during the next fight. "J, you said the systems were shutting down due to the need to reboot the affected areas."

" _ **That's correct sir."**_

Tony frowned in thought, bringing the schematics for the control systems of the armor up with an absent wave and studying the intricate wiring and circuitry. "Alright, so to avoid that, we can either not let him hit us, which if he has other targets around will be hard as we try to protect them, or...J, could we separate the systems? Have them linked to the main processor yes, but give each extremity its own boot up driver so they could restore independently?"

" _ **It is possible. You would lose whatever particular part was hit still however, and if the main chest piece or helmet were affected, a total system shutdown would still commence due to the nature of the systems in those areas."**_

Tony watched as JARVIS implemented the proposed changes on the schematics and gave a virtual test run of the expected outcomes. Yes, if the arm was hit it would stop, but the legs and other arm would still be effective. "Add a couple of mini arc reactors to the systems to allow for faster start up time, palladium cores should be fine for this, and prepare to upgrade. Current armor status?"

" _ **Currently, the Marks I-VI and the Marks IX-XIX are in storage in Malibu, while the Mark VII would take extra time to return to operational status due to needing to undo the retrofitting requested for the demonstration today. The Mark VIII, Mark XX, and the just completed Mark XXI are present and can be adjusted to compensate as directed."**_

"So something with a balance of weapons and speed, Python's long distance, or Midas' extreme speed." Tony thought about which to use as the three armors appeared, before he nodded his head. "Get the VIII up and running first, if I go back into battle soon I want all my weapons and defenses ready and VIII has the most. Midas next in case I need to get somewhere in a hurry, and then Python as you repair the systems. If nothing else happens after that, go ahead and prep VII as well, just in case. While you're doing that, bring up a more detailed scan of the places hit by that heat ray. Something is bugging me about it."

" _ **As you wish sir."**_

Tony set about examining the scans of the armor that had been hit by the beam. Bringing up before and after shots from when it had been first fabricated to the damage done now, he frowned. Enhancing the image only confirmed what he was afraid of. He was so lost in his musing, that he didn't hear the person approaching him from behind, making him startle a bit when they spoke.

"Tony? You alright?"

Tony spun around, but relaxed as he recognized the figure. "Bruce. Good timing. Where'd you disappear to?"

"I had a letter to send. I heard about what happened on the way back and came up with Natasha and Steve." Tony looked over the other man's shoulder, catching the eye of the other two and nodding in greeting. "Now, again, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, armor took the hit. I was just looking over the details now. I could use another pair of eyes to tell if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing."

Bruce nodded and turned towards the diagnostics, slipping his glasses on as he went. Tony left the other man to it, moving over to talk with Natasha and Steve so as not to bias Bruce with talking about what he thought he was seeing. "Cap, how you doing?"

"I'm fine, Tony. The SHIELD medic gave me some burn ointment which is dealing with the residual pain, and Sitwell already contacted Damage Control."

"Good stuff. How about you Romanoff, any bumps or bruises?"

Natasha shook her head. "Nothing new. I did get this though." Holding up a flash drive, she tossed it over to Tony who reached out and caught it in his hands. "SHIELD facial recognition program. It won't track him like the system we used for Loki, but it will let us know who he is. Unfortunately, Sitwell doesn't think it should be a high priority, so I wasn't able to get access to the SHIELD servers as well. It'll scan, but with the amount of various databases to go through it'll still be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Just the haystack is smaller."

"Start with the Department of Defense." Tony and Natasha turned, both raising an eyebrow in question as Cap met their gaze. "Whoever this guy is, he said he would sell his armor to the highest bidder. If he's going private sale, odds are he tried to sell it to governmental powers first. That would mean a demonstration, with some form of ID letting him onto a base or into a building for meetings. And since he called me a Department relic, and not the one he was planning on making a demonstration of..."

"He's got a grudge, probably against me and the DoD. Nice call Cap." Tony nodded and motioned the two to follow him, setting them up in another set of monitors opposite the ones that Jane, Darcy, and Erik had commandeered. Inserting the flash drive as he powered the system on, Tony called out again. "JARVIS, new software. Scan for viruses and malware traps."

"Tony, you really think SHIELD would-"

" _ **3 different programs detected sir. Two key-logger programs and one remote up-link."**_

Cap closed his mouth and frowned, looking over to Natasha who was frowning as well. "Fury is still playing games."

She nodded, then shook her head. "This isn't Nick's style. He'd ask me to be in charge of the program and flash drive if he was trying to keep it hidden. He knows I can cover my tracks, and that Tony is a suspicious bastard ever since discovering Phase 2."

Tony had already stripped the spyware from the program and was fast at work setting up the facial recognition with help from JARVIS. "She's right. This isn't Fury. World Security Council maybe, working around him, or some flunky trying to make a name for themselves. J, log into the DoD, use Rhodey's codes if you need faster access. Natasha, Steve, you two set up shop here, if the DoD falls flat, we'll expand to other agencies."

As JARVIS began a rapid search using the new software, Tony stepped back to the center console, watching as Bruce's eyes narrowed. "You seeing the same thing I did?"

Bruce nodded, taking his glasses off and turning towards Tony. "It's not just extreme heat. The heat is a byproduct of the molecular bonding forces loosening. It's a melting ray. If he improves the potential of the beam, or it strikes organic material instead of non-organic, it could conceivably vaporize anything. Complete sublimation of whatever it hits. Even now, sublimation is possible if the beam is allowed to hit the same spot constantly."

"Damn, I was hoping I was seeing things." Tony sighed and slumped against the console. "We can't let this tech be sold. If someone like Hammer or Ross got their hands on it..."

"That would be bad, yes. Ross especially wouldn't care about the consequences. Harlem can attest to that." Bruce went silent then, eyes fixed on some point in the past.

"You've never really talked about what happened there. I know Ross laid the blame at Hulk's feet, trying to save his own ass and career, and the WSC tried to recruit someone from his team, Blonksy I think-"

" **Abomination."** When Bruce spoke, it was in the deep, growling voice of the Hulk, and his eyes were flashing a deadly gamma green. With a deep breath, Bruce was able to pull himself back under control and shrugged apologetically at Tony. "Sorry. Hulk...doesn't like that guy. Either of them."

"Well, while everyone else is doing their thing, we've got time. You lot are the ones who said talking helps. I'm all ears."

Bruce seemed to settle against the tabletop as he considered whether to talk or not, before finally shrugging. "Why not." And so he spoke. Of his accident, the creation of the Hulk. How he had been on the run for years from Ross because the old man wanted to use Hulk as a weapon, and how he had eventually found someone willing to help in Samuel Sterns. How he had reconnected with Betty Ross to find the research he needed, and how they had gone to Sterns for help, only to realize that Sterns was more obsessed with using the Hulk than with helping them get rid of him. Then...Harlem. "I woke up a few days later, somewhere in the Appalachians. I pieced together what I could from news and from my own scattered memories, before moving on and starting a new path. I knew that I couldn't get rid of the Hulk now, so I started trying to work with him instead. The results have been...mixed."

Tony had listened patiently the whole time, his entire attention focused on the other man as he told the story. He nodded in understanding and stood, stretching his back as he did. "Sounds to me like Ross, Sterns, and Abomination were to blame, not you. Any idea what happened to the other two since we know Ross wriggled his way out of things?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Bruce who answered, but Natasha, coming up to the other two men and having clearly overheard their conversation. "Both in custody. Some of Bruce's blood got into Stern's head and mutated him, increased his brain power exponentially, and he was already genius level. Unfortunately, it's also made him completely amoral and a megalomaniac, so he's sedated while SHIELD works to reverse what happened. Blonsky reverted after Hulk beat him down and currently is sedated in cryo-prison in Alaska. If they can be changed back, then we can let you potentially do the same Bruce. If they can't, and they ever show signs of waking up, they both have 24 hour guard trained to go for a head shot before any transformation can take place."

Bruce's eyes flashed gamma green again and he nodded, a pleased smirk on his face. "Good. Good riddance to bad rubbish."

Tony turned in his chair, looking up at Natasha. "Find anything?"

"Yes actually. JARVIS?"

" _ **Bruno Horgan"**_ Atop the central display images began playing from what appeared to be security and demonstration footage, showing the man in question. It was definitely the Melter. _**"According to what I've been able to find, he was the owner of a start up robotics company. He claimed he was able to build a suit similar to the Iron Man armors after Stark Industries stopped selling weapons, and the Department of Defense gave him a lab and funding to attempt to do so. Unable to create repulsor tech, he instead devised a different power source, and was able to create a powered armor suit. However, his presentation to military officials was a failure, as the power source literally melted pieces of the armor off him. His contract was canceled and he was removed from the program, with funding instead going to Justin Hammer. According to bank records, Mr. Horgan sold his company and contacted the DoD again sometime later, claiming to have improved his technology, but was rejected. Obviously he was in fact, effective in fixing his power problem."**_

"Yeah, by channeling the excess energy into a melting ray." Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Great. We know who he is, now we just have to find him."

"We can help with that." Jane approached the group, holding a set of papers. "Based on his flight trajectory away from the Tower and the heat his suit puts out, we've got a cone of probability and a list of potential locations."

Tony stood, eyes gleaming with manic energy again now that the answers were coming hard and fast. "J, put Jane and Erik's stuff up on a hologram, I want something I can fiddle with." A blue wire frame version of the city appeared as the assembled Avengers gathered around it, with Jane's cone of probability highlighting an area in red and expanding outward from the Tower. "Alright, if he used all his money to fix his suit and is wanting to sell to the highest bidder to get that money back, then he wouldn't be operating in the open. Too much chance of being seen. JARVIS, remove all locations that would house more than one company."

As the potential locations faded out, Natasha looked over the remaining map and shook her head. "Too many still. If we or SHIELD started raiding these he could hear about it and disappear before we find him. What about power Stark? He may have his own power source for the armor, but with the exception of the arc reactor, fabrication facilities pull a lot of electrical juice."

"Unless he's using his own power source." Everyone turned to Darcy and she put her hands on her hips defensively. "What? Tony uses the big arc reactor to power this place, why couldn't this guy use a bigger whatever he made to power his own?"

Natasha nodded, conceding the point. "True, but he would have needed the regular power grid to construct the big source originally."

"Alright J, you heard 'em. Filter excessive power usage from the time Horgan got fired and heat spikes too. If he has a bigger source there would be a lot of heat from it."

"And places that had the machinery needed to make a suit, or at least that could be modified to it." Steve spoke up as various locations started disappearing off the model, watching with interest. "Howard needed a lot of tech to build the stuff he made for the Commandos, and I've seen the stuff you use Tony. It isn't small. Or quiet."

" _ **Filtering now."**_ More and more places disappeared, until finally, only one was left.

Tony's eyes narrowed as JARVIS pulled up the information available about that location. "Industrial automobile scrapyard. Bought out by private contract right after Horgan sold his company, spike in power after the change over but back to normal levels now. Big place, lots of room, can test his tech on the various broken cars and no one is the wiser. I think we've got a winner."

"I'll call SHIELD, get a team assembled-"

"No." Tony interrupted Natasha's offer, already planning approach vectors as he studied the area around the scrapyard. "Someone at SHIELD is trying to infiltrate the Tower, despite you already being here. I don't trust them right now. This stays with us. And since none of you would fit in my armors, Rhodey's comms are off while he's on assignment, and as I'm not interested in finding out what happens when your bare skin meets those melting rays, that means it stays with me."

Steve moved to interject, but in doing so he raised his hand up, moving the still visible burn into everyone's eyesight, and he sighed, conceding the point. "Fine, but we'll be here on comms, and Dr. Foster, Dr. Selvig, I'd like you to keep your equipment running, in case Horgan makes a break for it again. We'll stay on comms and provide any intel we can from here. And Tony, if things look bad you get out. This guy has already proven he doesn't care about hurting people just to prove a point. A beaten Iron Man may sell this guy's weapons, but a dead Iron Man makes him rich and the rest of the world a lot poorer."

Tony nodded, touched at the sentiment as the rest of the group nodded in agreement with Steve's words. "Copy that Captain. J, get the Mark VIII to the Party Deck."

" _ **The armor is already there and awaiting your presence for assembly sir."**_

The rest of the group dispersed, moving to their work stations as Tony made for the Party Deck, stepping out into the light and removing the earpiece as the assembly rig started suiting him up. Once the armor was locked in the HUD display loaded, already showing a flight path in the direction of the scrapyard. Tony took off, repulsors and thrusters pushing him to cruising speed as he flew between buildings, hoping to minimize the risk of Horgan seeing him coming. "You guys online?"

" _We're here Tony. Jane and Erik have the program running and JARVIS has the Stark satellite in position. Natasha is trying to call Fury to see if we can get you some backup that he trusts, and figure out who was trying to spy on you. And Bruce is looking over the scans from the earlier fight to see if we missed anything."_

"Sounds good, keep me posted." As Tony approached the junkyard he slowed to a comparative crawl, the repulsors making very little noise as he landed and began moving towards the central building. "J, any sign?"

" _ **Nothing on my scanners sir."**_

Tony waited just a moment for JARVIS to confirm that he didn't detect any traps or explosives, before kicking the main door in, repulsors primed. When nothing came out of hiding, he lowered the repulsors, and instead stepped into the room. Looking around, he was surprised to find nothing too out ordinary at first. However, as Tony stepped up towards the main desk however, JARVIS highlighted what appeared to be a false wall. Once again checking for any traps, Tony opened the door, stepping in with a whistle. "Well, either this is his base or it's somebody else running a fabrication lab out of a scrapyard." Moving towards the table, Tony found a computer recessed into the tabletop, along with several access ports and a power strip. Turning it on yielded a password log in request screen, making Tony smirk. "Go Go Gadget USB Port. Get me in there J." Raising his glove, one of the finger covers retracted, revealing a USB connection.

Rather than respond, JARVIS merely activated the code breaking software and got to work, cracking the security with the same ease that the ghost drive he had given Pepper cracked into Stane's network. _**"It appears that this is indeed the location sir. There are several encrypted files that appear to be data-logs of tests made by the Melter when preparing his armor. Displaying the text of the latest message now."**_

Tony watched as the entry appeared on the screen, speed reading through it. _Data Entry 371. The suit performed beyond my expectations, taking down two different Iron Man suits along with Captain America himself. Unfortunately, it was damaged by a bullet shot from one of SHIELD's little lap dogs. While the repair is simple in nature, it could have potentially convinced others that my weapons could be beaten. With this in mind, I intend to move my time table up, taking the enhanced armor I was going to keep for myself and use it in my second demonstration. Based on flight speed I should arrive at McGuire Air Force Base at 1600 today. My buyers have already been warned to be look for my latest demonstration._

Tony eyes locked on a specific line. "McGuire...Rhodey!" Raising his repulsors Tony fired straight through the ceiling and then launched, adding his arm repulsors to the other thrusters for that extra bit of speed. "JARVIS, connect me to McGuire tower, I've got to warn them."

" _ **I just did."**_

"McGuire tower, McGuire tower, Iron Man inbound. You have a hostile on approach, repeat, hostile on approach, targeting Colonel Rhodes and the War Machine armor, over."

" _Iron Man, McGuire tower. We detect no inbound bogie, please confirm transmission, over."_

"Confirmed. Bogie will be in a powered suit similar to one of my armors. Get thermals online, bogie will be putting out massive heat. Recommend getting all personnel to cover, bogie is extremely dangerous, over."

" _Understood. Colonel Rhodes is mobilizing. ETA, over?"_

"ETA 5 for bogie, 10 for me. Over and out." Once JARVIS disconnected Tony stared straight ahead, laser focused even as he inwardly cursed himself for not taking the Midas armor. The reduced weapon payload and enhanced thrusters meant that he could have potentially caught up with Horgan or even beaten him to the base. "Cap, Bruce, you guys have any recommendations for me?"

" _JARVIS sent us the latest schematics we could find in Horgan's notes. It looks like the enhanced suit he mentions is a full body one, with the power lines contained inside the suit. The power source for the melting ray is located on his back though, for ease of repair and replacement. Based on the materials used, your armor should be able to rip it open and remove it. It appears that the melting beam is separate from the rest of his armor, so even if you disable the ray, it will still be able to fly and lift several tons. Honestly, it looks like one of your armors without weapons, other than the melting ray."_

"Well, that's good news at least. Keep me posted if you find anything else. J, any way to boost our speed?"

" _ **By diverting power from the supplementary arc reactors, we could potentially reduce our time to equal of the Melter, but then the advantage provided by the additional reboot systems would be negated."**_

"Split the difference. Every moment counts. Hopefully Rhodey can hang on till we get there." Tony felt the thrusters gain power, making the armor shake with the extra speed. "J, Rhodey on comms yet?"

" _Yeah Tony, I'm here. What's going on?"_

"You've got incoming buddy. You see the guy who attacked the press conference this morning? He's on his way to you, and he's looking to take you out as proof his weapons can beat mine. Take him down as quick as you can and make sure he doesn't hit you with one of his melting rays or your armor will lock up and you'll be a sitting duck."

" _Got it. Take him down fast and avoid any blasts-ARGH"_ There was a sound of an explosion over comms, and Tony could hear the Melter in the background, cackling and giving a monologue as Rhodey got back on his feet. _"Okay, this guy is going down. If you want any of this action you better get here fast Tony."_

Tony cut his outbound connection, knowing that any distraction could be bad for Rhodey and focusing on getting to the base. A couple of minutes of listening to the Melter talk had him narrowing his eyes. As he approached, he hacked into the PA systems of the base, broadcasting out to call the Melter. "Oi, Hothead! Incoming!" With a final burst of speed Tony flew directly into the Melter as he was about to hit a downed War Machine, sending him spiraling out and into one of the parked planes while getting his first look at this so called enhanced armor. He had to admit he found himself, reluctantly, impressed.

Where before Horgan's armor had appeared almost piecemeal, this one was a single solid unit, orange in color with silver highlights. The helmet, previously leaving Horgan's face exposed, was a full face-plate like his own now, and as he watched, it retraced, allowing Horgan to call out. "STARK! Come for another round you will lose? I have to thank you. I'll be able to sell my armor for twice as much if I can kill you both here, you idiots!"

Tony raised his arm, allowing the blast to hit directly as he flew towards the Melter. "Actually, not an idiot. I'm a genius. You really think I would fall for the same trick twice?!" With a sputter of electronics, the armor's arm shut down, but the thrusters on his legs and the repulsors in the other arm were working just fine. Tony fired point blank into the Melter, sending him back again as he continued to fly forward, getting behind the Melter and using the lasers in the arm gauntlet to sever the connection between the Melter's power source and his heat rays.

Unfortunately, this had the unintended side effect of creating an energy feedback right into the central chest piece of the armor.

Tony was sent flying backwards, his systems shut down; thanks to the arc reactors being partially used up on the flight in, it would take a full minute to reboot. He watched as Horgan stood, grabbing one of the jets that had been sitting on the runway and lifting it over his head, opening his face-plate to gloat. "You may have disabled my melting rays Stark, but my armor is still fully charged, and yours is down. And before it can reboot, I'll have crushed you. The world will see you as nothing but the useless, obsolete trash that you are, and I'll finally have the money and recognition that I deserve! Now, say goodbye-"

Suddenly, the plane was lifted out of Horgan's hands and set aside, making the other man turn around in shock to find Rhodey, War Machine armor back up and functioning, pulling his fist back. "You talk too much." Before Horgan was able to process what was happening and lower his face-plate, Rhodey lashed out, punching him hard and sending the other man flying, leaving him splayed out and down for the count as he reached forward, helping Tony to his feet as the Mark VIII began rebooting. "You okay, Tony?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Nice shot."

"You too." The two men stood, looking over the unconscious man as the Military Police came into the field now that the danger was over. "He attacked a military base, he's under our jurisdiction now."

"Yeah. Let me take the tech though, it's more dangerous than even that idiot realized."

"How bad?"

"Not quite 'Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die', but above 'We're gonna need a bigger boat'." Rhodey laughed and nodded, moving to keep the MPs at bay while Tony stripped the armor off Horgan, leaving him in just the under-suit and then moved to get the energy pack as well. "Cap, you guys here still?"

" _We lost you for a bit there Tony. JARVIS said the suit got overloaded, you okay?"_

"Yeah, I'm good. Melter is down and in custody, and I've got his tech. I'll head back to his lab and dump everything, including his notes, into an industrial furnace and let it burn."

" _Nice job Tony. Come on home after, I'll get us all something to eat and we can debrief. You know SHIELD will want to know about what happened."_

"Making me dinner? Ah, you shouldn't have honey. Stark over and out."

 **UWSUWSUWSUW**

A few days later, in an office building in Florida, a man slammed his phone down, cursing softly as one of his associates stepped into the room. "Tell me you have good news. I could use some right now."

"I take it that means we won't be able to recover anything from Mr. Horgan's work?"

"No. Stark is refusing to turn it over, saying that he's already melted down the parts and notes. Horgan is refusing to share his work without a promise of a pardon and payment, but SHIELD is stepping in and preventing that. The only thing that came out of encouraging him to attack Stark before selling to us was that we found out the Iron Man suits are vulnerable to extreme heat!" The man was stomping around the room, and a red glow was slowly spreading across his skin before he stopped and took a few calming breaths. The glow receded, and he turned back towards the man who had just entered. "So again, I hope you have good news?"

"I do. And, from what you just said, we might have to thank Stark for it." The man handed over a file folder with smug look as the first man began speed reading the documents within. "The DoD has decided that, with the Mandarin bombings, and Stark being Stark, that they wish our group to provide upgrades and tech support for the War Machine. The armor will be handed over within the next month in preparation for a re-brand and reveal around Christmas time. The next step of our plan can begin."

Setting the folder down the first man smiled and stood, clasping his hands in front of his body and grinning, anger replaced with a dangerous delight. "Oh this...this is good. Go, prep the Master for his appearances. Now that we have this, we just need one more piece. And my meeting with the Vice President is set for next week. Let's get this show on the road." Stepping out of the office, the two men both seemed to shift, putting on salesmen smiles and mannerisms, and prepared to leave the building. As the door closed, the nameplate on the door came into the light cast by the hallway. Across it was a name and an acronym.

Aldrich Killian, AIM

 **A/N Mark II: I'm sure some may have figured out who was there at the end, but what can I say. I'm a dramatic bastard and it appealed to me to write it this way. Yes folks, the next chapter takes us into the next movie of the MCU after Avengers,** _ **Iron Man 3**_ **, and the events that will be affected by the Avengers working together rather than being split their separate ways.**

 **I'm curious about what you think of my action scenes, as I'm not sure how well this comes across. If you can drop a line saying what you think of it, and the story so far, I would greatly appreciate it.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**


	4. Chapter 4: Ready, Fire, AIM

**A/N: This chapter was hard to write. Mainly because of something I do to a pair of characters I really like (which I will expound on more in the bottom Author Notes), and because of how it's set. This fic is centered around the idea of how things will change with the Avengers sticking together throughout the events of the MCU. But, there are certain events that have been in motion for years already, that would still occur despite that. The reactions and outcomes of those events will be altered, but the events themselves will take place. For example: Robbie Reyes from Agents of SHIELD has, off screen, already had his fateful encounter with a certain Mr. Blaze, and those familiar with those characters as portrayed in the MCU know what that means.**

 **This chapter is a prime example of that. As I showed in the last scene of last chapter, AIM is about to make their play, and this chapter will cover a fair bit of Iron Man 3. But, the ripple effect of changes hasn't been enough to alter their plans too much. So how to make it interesting. I hope that I've done a decent job, and that you enjoy the various fight and action sequences that come up.**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin**

Chapter Four: Ready, Fire, AIM.

Steve threw his pencil down and let a harsh sigh escape, reaching for the nearby tea and taking a long sip as he stared out over the New York City skyline. The streets and buildings were covered in Christmas decorations and holiday spirit that provided illumination to the street in the dark of the winter night. It had been four months since he had first moved in, and already he had adjusted to the new normal that he found to be his living conditions. The constant sounds from the city, the explosions or cackles of mad genius that filtered from the labs whenever Tony wrangled the other scientists to assist him in his latest mad-scientist project, even Natasha coming and going at all hours of the day and night, occasionally in such effective disguises that Steve had been tempted to ask JARVIS if someone had breached security...all of it was very different from what he had been used to before his time under the ice, but it had become home, albeit one filled with a chaos that both disturbed and comforted him in equal measure.

But now, for all the craziness that normally inhabited the Tower, it was strangely quiet. Jane, Darcy, and Erik were all out, visiting family for the holidays. Natasha had been gone a week on a mission, though she was due to be back this afternoon provided nothing had gone wrong. Tony and Pepper were gone to California to finalize the move of Stark Industries central hub from the west coast to the Tower, but with the amount of paperwork involved that required actual signing and physical meetings, they weren't scheduled to be back until after Christmas. Even Bruce, the only one who was still at the Tower with Steve, had run out to check a P.O. box he kept separate from the mail he had delivered normally. The only other person that was here at the moment was JARVIS, and he had his own worries to keep him quiet.

Speaking of the AI however..."JARVIS, any word from Pepper?"

" _ **Miss Potts has one of the private Stark jets fueled as we speak, Captain, ready to fly when she and Mr. Stark arrive. I've already set several Stark satellites to give me a constant view of their flight once they take off until they are safely back at the Tower, and if sir continues to refuse to leave once Miss Potts is ready, my priority subroutines will allow me to...force the issue."**_

"What the hell was he thinking, giving out his address like that?"

" _ **I suspect that in his anger and grief over Mr. Hogan's injuries, that he was, in fact, not thinking, sir."**_

Steve sighed, conceding the point. When he heard from JARVIS that Happy had been injured in an explosion at the Chinese Theater and had been taken to the hospital, he had immediately turned on WHiH, watched the story develop, and even caught their replay of the message from the Mandarin as he called Pepper, wanting to make sure the two were alright. He had been on the phone with Pepper when Tony had stormed out of the hospital and been confronted with the mob of reporters, his usual playboy smile nowhere to be found. Tony was angry, and in his anger, had called out the Mandarin, even inviting him to confront him directly at his Malibu home while Steve and Pepper listened in, shocked. When Tony had gotten into the car to leave, Steve had heard Pepper sigh in exasperation before she promised to get him to pack up and that the two of them would head back to the relative safety of the Tower.

Judging by JARVIS' previous comment however, Tony was being his usual stubborn self about the matter. "Any contact from Rhodey?"

" _ **No sir. It's possible that he is unaware of the issue, due to his mission to root out the Mandarin and his forces, and after Mr. Stark's refusal to hand over the work and lab notes of The Melter-"**_

Steve interrupted, being well aware of the issues that had come from that. "The DoD doesn't want Tony having any contact with Rhodey when he's on a mission for them unless it's an Avengers-level threat."

" _ **Indeed sir."**_

Steve sighed again before the sound of the elevator opening up had him turning, spying Bruce coming out into the common room. "Bruce. Welcome back." When the other man didn't respond, Steve took a second look, moving closer when he noticed the sense of melancholy around the scientist. He placed his hand on the other man's shoulder, attempting to get his attention. "You alright?"

In lieu of an answer, Bruce waved the paper that was still clutched in his hand. Steve admitted to himself that he was curious what the letter could have said that led Bruce to such a look of resigned acceptance and sadness, but knew it would be the height of rudeness to ask. So it came as something of a shock when Bruce pushed the letter into Steve's hands and made for the bar. "Here. I need a drink and someone I can talk to. Talking about Harlem with Tony helped settle Hulk about everything that happened that day. And I definitely need settling now."

Steve nodded, wondering if he should convince the other man to stay with non-alcoholic drinks as the last thing the world needed was a drunk and/or hungover Hulk. But he reconsidered, knowing that Bruce was well aware of his limits, and instead looked down at the letter, and began to read.

 _Dear Bruce,_

 _It's been a while. Thank you for sending my mother's necklace back to me. I'm sorry it took a bit to reply to you, as your letter had to get forwarded to me. I'm currently in South America. Apparently a new branch of graviola research has had some interesting results for cancer treatment and the team contacted me to come down and provide independent peer review of their tests to confirm it. The head of the group here had heard about my work and after Culver decided not to renew my contract, I thought a change of pace was in order._

 _I'm so sorry about what happened, Bruce. Dad has always been stubborn and hard headed, not to mention self-righteous. I can't believe that he helped create that thing that you fought in Harlem. And afterwards, blaming you for everything... I thought he was a good man. He might have been once. But that time has long since passed. I told him never to contact me again, but he keeps trying. He thinks that he can convert me to his side, that you're dangerous and should be controlled._

 _That's one of the reasons I'm writing this letter. I love you, Bruce. And I always will. But after everything that has happened? My father will never stop trying to take control of the Hulk. His entire life is fixated on it now, because it's the only way to justify to himself that everything he's done has been worth it. And he won't stop. I believe that the only thing stopping him from finding you now is SHIELD. He ranted at me about it one night, wanting to know if they had contacted me as well. After the stuff in New York, he was ready to head down and try to capture you again, but SHIELD stepped in and forced him to back down._

 _But if I came and worked at the Tower, and you and I were together again, I don't think even that would stop him. He's convinced himself that you are a weapon, and a highly dangerous one outside of any hands but his own. And if he heard that we had found each other again, he would stop at nothing to get you, both to further his own goals and out of some misguided idea that he would be protecting me._

 _I can't take that risk. We would never be free of him if we were together, and you deserve a chance to be free. I deserve it, too. I'm going out to dinner with one of the research group tonight, now that my peer review work is done and any possible claims of bias can be dismissed. I don't know where my path leads, but I know that it's better for both of us if we don't walk it together._

 _I'm so glad that you found someplace to call home again. A place with people who understand that you aren't a monster. You're a hero, Bruce. Whether you see it or not. And that's not a path I can walk with you. But they can. Listen to them, believe them. And know that I'll always care for you._

 _Betty_

Steve put the letter down, eyes finding that Bruce had poured himself a drink but had yet to actually drink it. Instead, he was staring down into the amber liquid, thoughts a million miles away if his expression was anything to go by. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were seeing anyone..."

"I wasn't. Well, not anymore. Betty was my research partner, and since her father was General Ross, she was able to get me into the team to help recreate your serum. After the accident...I was on the run. It wasn't any kind of life for her. She helped me with the stuff in Harlem, but General Ross was even more on my ass after that, so I went into hiding again."

Steve nodded, connecting the dots in his mind. "And now that you have a safe spot here at the Tower, you got in contact with her."

"After getting permission to extend a spot for her here like Tony did for Jane, Darcy, and Erik. Fat lot of good it did me." He finally reached for the glass and took a long draw of it, setting it back on the table when half was gone. "I shouldn't even be that mad at her. She's doing the exact same thing I did. Separation to help keep me safe. And knowing Ross, she's probably right about what he would do."

"It still hurts, though. Dear John letters always do." At the other man's look of surprise, Steve raised an eyebrow in return. "You all seem to forget that I was stationed overseas for most of the War. I saw a lot of these letters. I think the name for them even got started around that time, or at least it was the first time I had heard the expression. Sometimes they had good reasons, sometimes not. But every one of my men hurt just the same."

Bruce blinked before covering his surprise by taking another sip of his drink. When he set it back down the surprise was gone from his face, but the melancholy had returned. "I thought...she could have been my one, you know?"

Steve's eyes got lost in his own memories then. "Yeah, I know." He shook himself, the memories of his time in the war with Peggy moving back to the back of his mind and he focused instead on the present. "But she's right about one thing. You're a hero. And more than that, you're a good man. If Betty has decided she can't live that life with you, then maybe she wasn't the one after all. And maybe, you should look around for the one that is."

Bruce let out a snort of laughter. "Yeah, like that will happen any time so-"

Before Bruce could finish his thought, the Tower began to reverberate with alarms. Steve jumped into action, unconsciously reaching for his shield despite the fact that it was still in his room. "JARVIS, what's going on?"

" _ **I've lost all contact with the Malibu servers. Last readings are consistent with some type of explosion."**_

"Bring up the WHiH feed – they've had a camera crew in a helicopter ever since Tony's announcement went live, or at least they did this morning."

Without a word, JARVIS did as asked, the central display showing a scene of horror. There was a helicopter firing on Tony's home. The image cut as the news crew made to leave the area, but not before the two men watched as what appeared to be one of Tony's armors sank down into the ocean, the house crumbling into the water behind him. Bruce stared as the image changed back to the news room of WHiH, before he called out, his voice soft. "JARVIS, was Tony in that suit?"

There was a note of frustration and fear in JARVIS' voice as he responded. _**"Unknown. However, last readings indicated he was inside the Mark XLII. With the satellites in the area re-purposed to watch the planned flight path back to the Tower however, I have no way to confirm with the Malibu servers apparently destroyed."**_

"And Pepper, is she alright?"

JARVIS worked frantically, the frustration in his voice doubling. _**"As of last readings."**_

Steve let out his own huff of frustration, before an incoming message alert had him straightening, hoping that it was Tony contacting them to say everything was alright. The image that appeared on the screen dashed that hope, as the video call connected to reveal a different face on the end. "Director Fury."

" _Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner. I take it you're aware of why I'm calling?_ "

"The attack on Tony."

" _Exactly. I was hoping one of you might take a Quinjet to confirm what happened."_

Steve narrowed his eyes, a question in his mind. Bruce beat him to asking it however, the other man's own eyes focused on the video call. "Why us? Why not a SHIELD team?"

Fury sighed, one hand reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose as if to stave off a headache. " _After the WSC flunky managed to sneak that malware onto the facial recognition program, Stark had a few choice words for them. Apparently they took offense to his tone. When I wanted to send a security team last night, I was told in no uncertain terms that 'If Stark can't keep his fat mouth shut then it's on his head, not ours' and was denied. I was planning on sending Natasha anyway when she came back today, but until she reports in, she's out of contact to avoid blowing her cover._ "

Steve couldn't hold back a snort of derision. "Typical REMFs. Rather than admit they were wrong they double down and punish the one who caught them."

Fury let out a snort of laughter, but whether it was at Steve using that particular acronym or the rest of the comment he kept to himself. " _Fortunately, while I can't send a team out now, they didn't order me to keep equipment away. I can have a Quinjet at the Tower in fifteen minutes, with restock equipment, bound for Los Angeles._ "

Steve nodded, determination settling across his face. "Understood. We'll be ready."

"No, I'll be ready. You're staying here Cap." Steve turned towards Bruce then, raising his eyebrow in inquiry. "Someone needs to be here in case Tony contacts us, and to let the others know. Director, can you have a second Quinjet sent to us? I'll take the first and then when the others are ready, they can fly out as well."

Fury nodded, his eyes narrowed as he picked up something the other man wasn't saying. " _Good plan, Dr. Banner. I even have a pilot I trust who can be ready with the second jet. Fury out._ "

Steve turned towards the other man. "Now that Fury's offline, what's the real reason you want me to stay behind that you couldn't say out loud?"

"If the WSC is willing to let Tony die, I don't think they'll approve any help from SHIELD. And if Tony did manage to survive, the Mandarin won't let that stand. Whatever happens next, it's on us. If Tony survived and we have to go to ground to avoid any other terrorist attacks, I'm better at staying under the radar than you and I'm less recognizable. When Natasha gets here, along with this pilot that Fury trusts, contact me. I'll get a burner phone in L.A., then let JARVIS know the number on my way to Malibu." Turning back to the screen where JARVIS' visual matrix had appeared after the call with Fury ended, Bruce continued. "J, Tony have any unlisted vehicles I could use to avoid anyone finding I'm on the way?"

" _ **Unfortunately no. Everything in Los Angeles is listed under Stark Industries. However, I do have another option."**_

"Oh? What's that?"

In response, a compartment Steve had been unaware of opened, revealing a standard leather briefcase. When Steve grabbed it and opened it up, curious about what JARVIS had planned, he found the briefcase was full of bundles of cash. _**"Mister Stark is a firm believer in having enough cash on hand to buy anything he might wish. Including cars."**_

Bruce let out a low whistle, before nodding and moving towards his room to get ready. "Yeah, that _will_ work. Steve, when Natasha gets here, let Fury know, then stand by for a message from me. If you haven't heard from me in 24 hours, bring the cavalry, and be loud about it. As long as I know where you are, I can make my way to you."

Steve nodded, reluctantly. He could see the sense in what the other man was saying, even if he didn't like it. "Alright. Stay safe, Bruce." A few minutes later, Bruce was on his way to California, and Steve had suited up, if for no other reason than having something to do. He was back in the common room, attempting to calm his nerves when the elevator pinged and opened to reveal Natasha had returned, and was already pulling off the wig she had been wearing for this latest assignment. When the hair cleared her eyes and she took in the fact that Steve was in uniform, her steps didn't even falter as she started moving towards her room. "Fill me in while I get suited up."

 **UWSUWSUWSUWS**

Bruce closed the flip phone he had bought and got out of the SUV he had purchased earlier that day. It probably wasn't as flashy as the things that Tony would normally buy, but it fit in well with the flow of cars on the 405, and that was what he had needed. Originally, the plan had been to head to Malibu as soon as he landed, but that plan changed nearly immediately. Before he could head out he had bought the phone and contacted JARVIS, who had told him that Pepper was alive and mostly unharmed. The police had her in protective custody, but Pepper had insisted on heading back to the house the next night. So Bruce changed his plans.

Now, with another update to JARVIS done, he mentally prepared himself and began sneaking through the various vehicles that were surrounding the house. He waited until no one was looking, then grabbed a CSI jacket and clipboard from the closest van. He kept his head down, walking with purpose to where Pepper's red hair was standing out in the crowd of police workers. His ruse seemed to be working, as no one paid him too much attention, taking in the jacket and clipboard and then moving back to whatever they were doing. As he approached, he watched Pepper put on one of the helmets from the armors, and when she took it off again, she was crying, but smiling. Taking that as a good sign, he made the final approach towards her, softly calling out her name. "Pepper. Hey, Pepper."

She turned, and it took her a moment to recognize him in the dim moonlight, but when she did, she smiled again. "Bruce! What...are you doing here? I thought you were at the Tower?"

He stepped to her side completely; now that he had made it through the police blockade, he was less sneaky, confident that she could vouch for him. "After JARVIS got word of the attack, I hopped on a Quinjet and got here this morning. Didn't know where you were going to be until tonight. Did Tony make it out too?"

She shook her head, then nodded. "Yes and no. He's alive. I thought he had died, but he left a message on the SI servers for me. Here, listen." She turned the helmet around, speaking softly into the audio receiver inside. "Replay previous message."

From inside the helmet, a female voice responded even as Pepper placed it over Bruce's head, confirming the order, then Tony's voice began speaking through the speakers. _"Pepper, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So...first off, I'm so sorry. I put you in harm's way. I let my anger get the better of me and acted without thinking. It was selfish, and stupid, and it won't happen again. And I'm also sorry that I can't come back yet. I need to find this guy, because now I know he won't stop until I'm dead, which means I need to stop him before I come back to you. You gotta stay safe. That's the most important thing to me. Head to the Tower, the others will look after you. And tell Steve to get the Fancy Dress Protocol ready, just in case. Him, Natasha or Bruce. JARVIS will recognize what it means, but it has to be one of the Avengers that says it. I love you. I'll be back to tell you in person as soon as I can."_

Bruce removed the helmet, relief and worry battling in his expression. "He's alive. That's the good thing. Do we have any idea where he is from the message?"

Pepper shook her head again. "It's from the secure server. As long as you have a pass-code you can access it from anywhere in the world that has a phone line. What's this Fancy Dress Protocol?"

It was Bruce's turn to shake his head, this time in confusion. "I have no idea. It must be something he kept secret but coded to us at the Tower. I'll get a hold of JARVIS so he can update everyone. After that, let's get you out of here. The World Security Council is tying SHIELD's hands, and considering how deep the Mandarin has been able to get into various places, I don't trust anyone but the Avengers at this point. I want us as covert as possible, okay?"

Pepper's eyes widened at that, but before she could respond there was a commotion from out front. Bruce turned, getting ready to release the Hulk if he needed to to keep Pepper safe, but it was just a single woman that had apparently tried the same trick he had to get through the police cordon, only she hadn't succeeded. "Miss Potts, please! Tell them to let me through!"

Bruce turned, seeing Pepper's eyes go flint like as she put a professional mask on, hiding her emotions. "You know her?"

"Maya Hansen. One of Tony's old conquests. She came by just before the attack to warn us about something. I'll handle this. You call the Tower."

As Pepper made her way to the police group, Bruce pulled out his flip phone and made the call to the Tower. _"We're here, Bruce. Any updates?"_

"Tony's alive. I don't know where, but he left a message on the Stark servers for Pepper, along with a request for all of us at the Tower."

There was an audible sigh of relief as Steve processed that, one Bruce well understood. _"That's good, at least. What's the plan now?"_

"I'm getting Pepper out of here. I've got a fair bit left from the stash that JARVIS set me up with. I figure I can get us to a hotel overnight then we can get to LAX tomorrow. If all goes as planned, we should be back at the Tower no later than tomorrow night."

" _Understood."_ It wasn't Steve's voice that answered this time, but Natasha, and Bruce realized that JARVIS must have him on speaker for everyone. _"Our Quinjet is ready to go, just say the word."_

Bruce shook his head before remembering that this wasn't a video call and instead responded verbally. "No, I'd rather you stand by. The Mandarin was able to get one of his bombs into the heart of a military base. He's either got connections or followers with connections. I don't want anything that could possibly lead to us until we are already aboard a plane and on the way. You know I can make my way around airport security, and once we are aboard somewhere then I'll call you before liftoff for an escort."

There was silence on the other end as they considered his words, before Steve spoke again, reluctant acceptance lacing his tone. _"Alright, but keep us posted. If we haven't heard from you in 24 hours we're flying out no matter what."_

"Sounds good. Oh, and Steve, Tony left part of the message for you. Something about a Fancy Dress Protocol?"

" _Fancy Dress Protocol?"_

Another voice cut in before Steve could continue, JARVIS' voice clear and relieved now that he knew that Tony was alive. **"** _ **Fancy Dress Protocol enabled. It's something that Mister Stark has been working on ever since the Melter incident. If you'll head down to the garage, I'll have it ready to show you. Dr. Banner, your part I can load onto the Quinjet or bring to you if needed."**_

"Uh...thanks, I guess. Still not clear on what this is, but if you and Tony think it may be needed, go for it. I'll talk to you guys later. I'm gonna get Pepper out of here now." Closing the phone, he made his way over to where Pepper was standing with the other woman, Maya. Raising an eyebrow at her he turned back to Pepper. "We need to go. I'm parked out a bit in an SUV. You able to walk that far?"

"I can. She's coming with us though. I have some questions for her." Bruce shrugged and then began leading the two through the various police cars until they were clear of the group, heading for where he had parked. Once they were back on the road, Bruce turned on the radio to listen for any traffic updates, knowing how bad the freeways in California could get, as Pepper sent a few updates to SI through her tablet, making it seem like she would be back in tomorrow for anyone that may have an ear inside of SI. Finally, she put the tablet down as she turned towards the other woman, Bruce paying attention with half an ear as he made his way to a hotel he knew about from his days of hiding from Ross. "Alright. Time to explain some things. Why were you at the house tonight? What was so important that you had to speak to Tony about?"

"I think my boss is working for the Mandarin. So if you still want to talk about it, I suggest that we get ourselves someplace safe."

There was silence for a moment in the car before Pepper turned more fully to face the other woman. "Your boss works for the Mandarin? Tony said you were a botanist!"

"That figures. What I actually am is a biological DNA coder, and my team of forty works out of a privately funded think tank. The guy running the think tank is the one I think works for the Mandarin."

"What's his name? The one running the tank?"

"Aldrich Killian." Pepper made a gasp of surprise at that, but before she could comment further, the Emergency Broadcast System tone sounded, and Bruce leaned forward to turn up the radio, wondering what else had gone wrong now. But when the tone ended, it wasn't the EBS that came through. Instead, it was the sound of screams, explosions, and then, the voice of the Mandarin.

" _Mr. President. Only two lessons remain. And I intend to finish this before Christmas morning. Meet Thomas Richards. Good strong name, good strong job. Thomas here is an accountant, for the Roxxon Oil Corporation. But, I'm sure he's a really good guy."_ There was the sound of sobbing in the background, as presumably the man the Mandarin was introducing was put in front of the camera. Even if they couldn't see it, the Mandarin made a show of everything. _"I'm going to shoot him in the head, live on your television in 30 seconds. The number for this telephone is in your cell phone. Exciting, isn't it, imagining how it got there? America, if your president calls me in the next half minute, Tom lives. Go!"_ There was silence for a moment, other than the sounds of Tom sobbing, until at the 20 second mark, the phone began to ring. Bruce let out a sigh of relief, but one that was short lived, as even with the phone ringing in the background, a gunshot was heard. There was silence for a moment, then the Mandarin began speaking again. _"There's just one lesson left, President Ellis. So run away, hide, kiss your children goodbye. Because nothing, not your army, not your red, white, and blue attack dog can save you. I'll see you soon."_

The car was silent for a moment, the three inside shocked at what they had just listened to, before Maya spoke, breaking the silence with a sob in her voice. "Why...he called. The president called. The phone was ringing, why didn't he let him go?"

Bruce gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white from the force of his grip. White, with a hint of green. "Proving a point. That nothing we do can stop him from what he has planned. That even if we agree to negotiate, this maniac isn't willing to. He's going to perform his 'lessons' and we can't stop him." He took a few deep breaths, calling on the calming exercises he had learned in his quest to keep the Hulk away years ago before he had settled on his current method. As he pulled off the road into a motel, he managed it, the green gone from his skin and eyes as he went in, paid for a decent sized room with two beds and a pull out couch, and moved the car to park.

Once they were all settled again, Bruce ordered some room service for dinner then settled on the couch, rubbing the bridge of his nose and looking as Maya and Pepper settled on the beds, facing each other. "What happened, Maya? What made you think Killian is working for the Mandarin?"

Maya leaned back, eyes lost in memory as Bruce listened. "What happened. Fun fact? Before he built rockets for the Nazis, the idealistic Wernher von Braun dreamed of space travel. He stargazed." She laughed scornfully then, coming back to the present. "When the first V2 fell on London, he said 'the rocket performed perfectly, it just landed on the wrong planet.' See, we all begin wide-eyed, pure science. I bet you can agree to that, Doctor Banner." When Bruce raised his eyebrow in surprise, Maya gave him a look. "You may not be as well-known as Tony Stark or Steve Rogers, but there are more than a few scientists that still remember you from your days working at Culver University. I bet that if you hadn't dropped off the map, that you would have been approached by Killian, too. Can you imagine it, Doctor? Someone, offering you the funding needed from a private organization, to pursue your research. Private, not government, meaning anything you were able to do you could actually use and give to the people, rather than having it classified under layers and layers of government restrictions?"

Bruce nodded, knowing well the appeal of research and science unrestricted by government mandate. "I can. It's a bit like what I'm doing now actually, for SI."

"Now, can you imagine giving your research to anyone else? That, after having this funding and power given to you, you wouldn't take it as far as possible? Your ego kicks in, obsession to prove your theories, and suddenly, you look back, and see the mistakes you've made. The dangers you've helped create."

Bruce was silent, his mind filled with the flashes of his time as Hulk before he gained the little bit of control he now had. Instead, it was left to Pepper to get Maya to continue, offering what comfort she could to the other woman. "Maya, you can't blame yourself. You gave your research to a think tank, there are hundreds of scientists who have done the same."

"Yes, but Killian built that think tank on military contracts."

There was a knock at the door then, bringing Bruce out of his memories. He stood, moving to the doorway and looking out before relaxing as he recognized the food he had ordered on the tray. He opened the door and moved aside, letting the waiter in. The next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain in his neck, as if a sting from a bug or a needle, and he passed out, darkness overtaking him.

 **UWSUWSUWSUWS**

Pepper stared in open-mouth shock as Bruce collapsed onto the floor before her she recognized the man holding the syringe. "Maya, RUN!" She tried to back away but the unfamiliar room led her to stumble across a piece of furniture, allowing Killian to grab her by the throat and pin her to the wall.

She glared as he had the audacity to smirk at her and speak as if it was a perfectly normal meeting. "Hi, Pepper." He turned away, ignoring Pepper as he saw Maya standing and moving towards the two. "Not that I don't appreciate the warning about Doctor Banner here, but you want to tell me why you were at Stark's place last night?"

"I'm trying to fix Extremis, I didn't know you and the master were gonna blow the place up."

"Which still doesn't explain why you were trying to save Stark after he threatened us."

"Look, I've told you Killian, we can use him! If we want to launch product, I need Stark." Pepper had heard enough, twisting into one of the moves she had Natasha teach her, she forced Killian's arm off her throat. She made to jump away, heading for the door, when someone else stepped in from outside, blocking her path. Killian grabbed her around the neck again, this time though his grip was tighter, and with the lack of air, she found herself passing out, joining Bruce in oblivion.

She gasped awake, trying to move her body but finding herself strapped down to some form of medical table, various machines keeping track of her vitals. Judging by the light that was streaming in through the window, she must have been out all night. She tried again to move, but couldn't, not even her head, which meant she was forced to see Killian's smug face as he stepped closer to her. "Good morning, sunshine."

Pepper didn't respond verbally, instead spitting in his face. "Where's Bruce, you asshole?"

He just chuckled at her again, before stepping back and wiping the spittle of with a handkerchief. "As feisty as ever, I see. I like that in a woman. As for Doctor Banner, he's fine. Sedated though. We have plans for him, and we wouldn't want his big green alter ego to spoil the party." At Pepper's surprised look, he smirked again. "Oh, yes. We know all about Doctor Banner. How do you think we were able to make a sedative that was fast acting enough to knock him out and keep him out? Some of the people interested in my think tank's products know all about the Avengers, in and out of battle."

"You know all that, and you still think your side will win? You're working for a murderer, Killian, a lunatic!"

Killian raised his eyebrow in surprise, before a look of realization crossed his face. He moved around to her side where she couldn't see him as he continued talking. "Oh, you mean the Mandarin. No, no, Pepper. I'm not working _for_ the Mandarin." Suddenly, there was a sharp jab into her side and she cried out as she felt something being injected into her. A burning sensation starting crawling along her skin, so much so that it threatened to make her black out again from the pain of it. But still, his next words pierced through. "I _am_ the Mandarin. The man you see on TV? He works for me. And so many others do too, all of them with that same serum running through them that I've just given you. That burning sensation you feel? A new version of a special DNA sequencer called Extremis. Maya developed it, but it has the unfortunate side effect of causing some subjects to...well, blow up. What I've put in you is a refined version I made some changes to. Still has a chance for explosion, but it's much more powerful than the run of the mill serum. Soon, your body will reach a point that it either rejects or accepts the changes. If it doesn't accept the changes, well, that's when things can get a little...energetic. But if it does, we move on to step two, where you and I can truly begin to work together."

"I'll _never_ work with you Killian." Pepper did her best to glare at the man despite the burning pain she was in, managing to bite out her retort in scathing tones.

Killian laughed again. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think I was giving you a choice? No my dear, you see, step two? It's a process one of my first buyers gave me when I first started this little project. They call it the Faustus Method. And it will make you happy to comply with anything I ask of you. After all, it made it so several military veterans, tried and true patriots, were willing to turn terrorist against their own country."

Pepper only gaped at the man, her eyes wide in horror before they reflexively closed again as a wave of pain shot through her body, feeling like her very blood was on fire. "You...won't get away with this."

"Oh, Pepper...I already have. And with you under our control, Tony Stark is going to make sure of that fact." Killian adjusted something on the table facing her then, and he stepped out, sealing her in the room as he left. One of the other people approached him, handing over a vial of red fluid. "The extraction worked then. Good, get that sent to General-" The heavy thud of the door closing cut off his speech, and made her think it was made of something heavy, probably rated to contain the blast if she truly was going to explode. She tried to keep focused, keep her breath even like Natasha had shown her, but the pain became too much. She winced and called out, her mind losing all sense of time as the pain continued to burn through her. She felt someone come in and move her, then she was loaded into what sounded like a helicopter, before even that much awareness was too much and all that was left was the pain, and then blissful unconsciousness again.

When she woke once more, it was to a different room, but still seeing that smug smirk of Killian's. "Hello again."

Pepper didn't bother with a response, instead taking stock of her body. The burning sensations were gone, but something...it was if her entire body was recovering after a long illness. Sluggish and slow to move. She turned her attention back to Killian finally, narrowing her eyes as best she could. "You think he'll help you? He won't."

Killian moved closer, leaning into her personal space. "Having you here is not just to motivate Tony Stark. It's, well..."

Pepper got it before he finished speaking, the sluggish feeling starting to vanish. "I'm a trophy for you. Proof you won."

"Basically." There was a thud, and Pepper looked, momentary relief filling her as Rhodey appeared in the Iron Patriot armor. But when the rest of the room didn't begin to freak out, that relief fled as the suit opened, dropping out not Rhodey but President Ellis instead. "Ah! Welcome aboard, Mr. President!"

Pepper began testing the bonds that were holding her down, trying to work her arms free even as Killian and his goons brought the president up a few levels to a monitor showing some kind of ship. "You ever hear of an elephant graveyard Mr. President? Well, two years ago, the elephant in the room was this scow. The _Roxxon Norco._ She spilled a million gallons of crude oil off the coast of Pensacola, and thanks to you and your allies in Congress, not a single fat cat exec saw a day in court."

Ellis snarled, standing straight. "There was more to the story than that. But cut to the chase. What do you want from me?"

Killian blinked in surprise, and even from this distance Pepper could see that stupid self-satisfied smirk when he did respond. "Uh, nothing, sir. I just needed a reason to kill you that would play well on TV. I've found myself a new political patron, and this time tomorrow, he'll have your job." Turning to his men, Killian shoved the president towards them and gave another order. "String him up." Pepper watched through the windows as the put the president up onto some rig, back inside the armor. The sluggish feeling was wearing off slowly but surely, and in its place was...power. She could feel it, burning through her. She wasn't sure what she could do with it, but she knew whatever Killian had injected her with, her body had accepted it, and it had changed her.

" _All personnel, we have hostiles on east unit 12."_ Pepper looked up from her internal musing then, as the people began scattering to face whatever threat had appeared. They were all racing towards a certain part of the dock, and didn't notice the light approaching in the distance. But Pepper smiled, and started laughing. She knew that light all too well.

Sure enough, the light resolved into repulsor fire, then more, and more. Every suit of armor that Tony had built since the Avengers first formed seemed to be present, and a few suits that she hadn't even recognized.

" _Oi, Killian! Testing testing one two three. Can you hear me?"_ Pepper smiled wider, hearing Tony's voice echoing through the external speakers of every armor. _"Last chance. My armors outnumber your Extremis soldiers, and the heat they put out makes them easy targets. Give up, and you'll get a fair trial. Or I can kill you here and now and save the taxpayers money."_

Killian growled and grabbed a nearby microphone, turning on his own external speakers as he did. "Last I knew, Tony, my soldiers already proved they could take out your suits. So why should a bunch of empty tin cans scare me?"

" _Who said they were all empty?"_ Before Killian could comment, one of the suits shot into the air, before a flair of light came down in the center of a group of Extremis soldiers. Whatever it was set off a massive explosion and the three went flying away. _"That bad boy is not one I expected to see at this little pow-wow, but is most definitely welcome. The Iron Ranger, a long range recon armor, with plenty of sensors, targeting scanners, and long range weapons complete with crossbow style rail gun. What's up, Legolas – they finally get you cleared?"_

" _Free as a bird, Stark. Nat, container at 3 o'clock, gamma signature inside. You're up!"_ Pepper smiled as she heard the voice of Clint Barton coming over the speakers as well, before the room she was in shook, and then a mighty roar of rage bellowed out from somewhere that she couldn't see to her left.

" _That would be the sound of my Iron Spook. Lacks the weapons of Ranger but makes up for it with retro-reflective stealth technology. Perfect for the spy on the go. And that roar means that Black Widow has found Doctor Banner and the Hulk shall soon be joining us as well. Wouldn't want him to feel left out, so JARVIS, go ahead and suit him up in the Iron Brawler, would ya?"_ Pepper watched as pieces of gigantic armor flew away, heading in the same direction that the roar had come from, and the sounds of gunfire and screams rapidly increased.

" _Now, you may actually have some bigger weapons that might prove dangerous to my tech, so the armor for the Avenger still not present has something for that. Oh, JARVIS? Have the Iron Leiptr take care of that would you?"_ Another armor shot up and quickly flew out of her sight, even as the people around Killian, and Killian himself, watched in a state of stunned disbelief. _"Leiptr is Norse, by the way. For lightning."_ A great flash of light spread down and out, and every bit of electrical equipment in the area fried completely, leaving only the emergency lights running. _"Oh, and last but most certainly not least, while I've kept your attention, AKA distracting you, my good friend Colonel Rhodes has gotten a lift from the last currently-present Avenger. Ladies and Gentlemooks, I give you The Iron Soldier and the War Machine. Cap, get the president out of here, your armor is faster than Rhodey's and he's more familiar with the tech."_ Another armor flew away, this one with a person hanging on outside of it, while Rhodey set his guns to work, shooting at another group of Extremis soldiers. _"Like I said, give up. You've already lost."_

Pepper watched as the room was steadily lit with an orange glow, and she turned her attention back to Killian. He was glowing, his eyes and face contorted into a rictus of rage and hate. He grabbed the microphone again, but his hand started burning away at the metal. He set it down quickly and shouted out, any composure that he once had now completely gone. "KILL THEM ALL!"

" _Suit yourself. JARVIS, target Extremis heat signatures. Execute with extreme prejudice."_

" _ **Yes, sir!"**_

The armors began throwing themselves into battle, explosions and gunfire shouting out through the area. The room she was in rocked as an explosion hit a bit too close to home and sent her and everyone else in the room flying. Some flew outside, being met by armor or the Avengers, but a set of debris crashing around her kept her pinned down. A few moments later, one of the armors flew in through the hole in the wall, and the face-plate opened up to reveal Tony. "See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?"

Pepper closed her eyes, crying and laughing with relief. "God, you're such a jerk."

"Yup. We can talk about it over dinner. Come on, give me your hand, I'll pull you free and get those restraints off of you."

Pepper reached out, her hand not quite reaching Tony's as she did her best to move from the restraints and reach him. Right as she managed to make it, a burning orange hand shoved its way up through the floor, grabbing on to the arc reactor in the suit and burning it to slag before pushing out, sending Tony falling backwards. Pepper could only watch in disbelief as Killian, still glowing orange, pulled himself through the hole he had melted in the floor and turned towards where she was pinned. "Is this guy bothering you, sweetie?"

Killian moved, straddling the damaged armor with Tony inside, and his hand glowed orange again as he began to heat the armor up, cooking Tony alive. "No, don't get up Stark. How's it feel, little hot? Like a little turtle, cooking in his own shell?"

Pepper grunted, trying to get free of the restraints. "Tony!"

Killian turned and then looked down again. "She's watching. Pepper, you may want to close your eyes. You probably don't want to see this." His body glowed a brighter orange and he reared back, aiming his fist at Tony's face, when suddenly a short blade popped out of one of the gauntlets. With a quick thrust, Tony disarmed Killian, quite literally, as his hand separated from his body. Even as she watched however, his arm appeared to be growing back, the still-glowing separated appendage landing near her, melting through the floor. The new hole, combined with the one Killian had made, was too much for the integrity of the room and the floor collapsed, sending her down to hang off a crane, pinned to it, with the ship deck several stories below. One of her hands popped free from its restraints, and she started working desperately to get the other free as well, but any movement made her precarious position worse as the debris holding her in place from dropping shifted with every twitch that she made. Something must have gotten turned on, as the crane began moving, and she watched as Tony rushed after it, trying to get to her.

The crane stopped in a new position, the gears grinding to a halt as the debris that was keeping her trapped gummed up the works. It gave Tony enough time to reach her, and she watched as he stretched out his hand, trying to pull her in. "Come on honey, reach. I promise, I'll catch you!" Before she could do so, the gears crunched their way through the debris, sending a jolt throughout the crane that shook her loose. She yelled out, Tony's hand too far away for her to reach, and could only watch as he stayed above her while she fell down into the fiery conflagration below. She closed her eyes, expecting to never open them again.

With a solid thud she landed, and the first thing she felt was agonizing pain as her bones snapped into angles they were never meant to go in. Surprisingly, she had survived, but with the amount of fire and smoke around her, she didn't think it was much of a blessing. She coughed, smoke already filling her lungs, when a new type of pain began to take hold. At first, she thought that the fire was burning her alive, but this heat was coming from inside her own body. She finally opened her eyes and watched, in stunned, pained disbelief as the same orange glow that had been surrounding Killian and his troops suffused her own body, setting her bones to right with painful snaps and movements. When Extremis had done its work, she moved out of the fire, and took a moment to take stock of herself, stretching her arms and legs in surprise as there seemed to be no lasting damage. A creaking, groaning metal sound caught her attention and she watched as the crane and containers above her came crashing down, making her lunge to get out of the way.

When she looked again, she saw Killian coming after an armor-free Tony. She grabbed a heavy piece of pipe and swung with all her strength, sending Killian flying off and away as she continued to feel her body burning with power. Tony stared at her, slack jawed with such an expression of hope in his eyes that it took her breath away, before finally, he shook his head. "I got nothing." The moment was ruined by the sound of one of the suits approaching, and Tony's expression of hope changing to one of fear, even as Killian stood up again. The suit shifted, aiming not for Killian, but for her. "JARVIS, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!"

The suit continued its attack run, and Tony reached up for his earpiece, realization turning his face back into horror as he discovered it had fallen out. Pepper, still high on adrenaline and happy to have something to lash out at, could only give him a look as she dodged the first repulsor blast, and then, ignoring Tony's protestations, used his knee as a springboard, jumping up into the air and channeling the burning feeling down to her fist. She struck, punching a hole straight through the arc reactor of the armor, disabling it, before turning and knocking Killian back away as he made a charge at them. She shoved her hand down into the gauntlet, and remembering Tony's instructions about how to get the repulsors to fire manually, kicked one of the anti-tank rockets that Tony used in his suits over, knocking the wind out of Killian as it stuck to his body from the force of the kick, leaving her more than enough time to fire.

With a roar of flame and pressure, the rocket, and Killian with it, exploded into hundreds of pieces, scattering across the deck of the ship. Breathing hard, Pepper worked to get the heat inside under control, even as Tony called out to her. Turning towards him, she took a deep breath, before letting it out, the adrenaline leaving her system. "Oh, my God. That was really violent."

Tony leaned down, picking up the earpiece that was the connection to JARVIS even as he spoke to her. "You just scared the devil out of me babe. I thought you were-"

Tony couldn't even finish the sentence, and Pepper knew that the thought of what almost happened still scared him, so she tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "What, dead? Because I fell a measly 200 feet?" The joke fell a little flat, because she knew that, for all intents and purposes, she should have been dead. And that knowledge left her shaking and scared. "Who's the hot mess now?"

"Still debatable, though probably tipping your way a bit."

Tony continued, trying to make a few jokes of his own to lighten the mood, but Pepper was instead looking down at the gauntlet she was wearing, speaking up when Tony stopped talking. "You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up the suits." Looking up, the fact that she was alive, that he was alive, and they had both made it through, filled her with a kind of giddy energy. "What am I gonna complain about now?"

"Oh I don't know." The two turned at the other voice, relaxing as Natasha faded into existence, her suit sparking as the retro reflective panels finally gave out after the battle. "I mean, it's still Stark, so I imagine that there will always be something to complain about."

The other Avengers soon joined them as well, with Rhodey being the last to arrive as Hulk began the process of shifting back into Bruce, the armor falling off of him as he shrank. "Final sweep confirms all targets down. Steve called too, said that the President was secure. And already making calls about taking the Vice President into custody. I think we did it, Tony."

Tony smiled, moving to embrace her, and Pepper backed away, worried. "No, don't touch me. I don't want to burn you."

"It's okay. See?" Tony took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. "Not hot. Well, not hotter than I normally find you."

Natasha snorted as Clint rolled his eyes, handing Bruce a pair of pants that he had gotten from somewhere. "Really, Stark? Is now the best time to flirt?"

"There's always time to flirt, Barton. If you had a girlfriend you'd know that." Pepper let out a choked laugh at that, but she was still worried, and Tony could tell. "You're gonna be fine. I had J download all of Hansen's notes from the place in Tennessee. I almost had this over a decade ago when I was drunk. I can figure it out."

Natasha piped up then, her eyes giving the group a once over to check for any hidden injuries. "Though from what I saw, you seemed to have a handle on it anyway."

Tony nodded, giving her a squeeze again as his eyes locked on hers. "And I promise, I'll make this my focus until it's fixed."

Pepper smiled, pointing up towards the armors that were still circling the area. "Aside from the armors you mean?"

Tony shook his head, surprising her. "No, actually. I think it's about time I cut down on my distractions." Reaching up, he tapped his earpiece once, making sure it was on. "JARVIS, you up?"

" _ **For you sir, always."**_

"I do believe it's time. Clean Slate Protocol, please. Iron Avengers excluded of course." Tony moved to hug her and Pepper looked up as he did, watching as the armors began exploding all around them, and Pepper nuzzled in against his neck, letting out a soft little laugh as she did. "Come on, honey. Let's go home."

 **UWSUWSUWSUWS**

Tony looked around the gathered crowd of Avengers, Pepper having gone to get a few tests done with a SHIELD medical team. Fury, when he heard what had happened, had torn strips off the WSC, and forced them to give Tony and the rest of the Avengers anything that they needed to help Pepper. The medical staff was currently in one of the modular labs that Tony had converted into a medical bay, going over everything while he kept a close eye on things. "Thanks for coming, guys. You as well Barton. I didn't know you had finally gotten the all clear."

Clint smiled, waving away the thanks. "Technically I haven't actually finished. Final paperwork has to be signed on the last bit of work I was doing. But, when Fury called and said that things were going down and the rest of you might need a pilot, I was excused from my current projects."

Steve spoke next, rubbing the back of his head. The stress of the last few days, and said stress finally having a resolution, left him visibly tired to even Tony's untrained eye. "When we didn't hear from Bruce, we figured that things had gone bad, and then when your suit was able to get back in contact with JARVIS here at the Tower, we were ready to go. I'm just glad we got there in time to help."

"Of course you got there in time – you were in my suits, after all. Speaking of, how did you like them? After the Melter, I thought having suits tailored for you all would be a good idea. Rapid deployment, faster than a Quinjet, and better protection than the stuff you have now, vibranium shield not included."

The five looked at each other, but it was Natasha that spoke first. "I liked the stealth tech, but I don't think I'll be using it too often."

"What? Why?"

She shrugged, unconcerned with the note of wounded pride in his voice. "I'm not trained to fight in them. I've got years of experience without it, where your training consists of working with the armor constantly. It's too heavy for my style of fighting, and it threw my timing off."

Tony pouted, lips stuck out before he took in the guilty looks on the other Avengers faces, except for Rhodey. "Barton, Rogers? Hulk I can understand, the big guy doesn't really need it, but you two, too?"

Clint nodded, just as unconcerned as Natasha. "The long range sensors and recon were definitely appreciated, and the crossbow rail gun was a nice touch, but yeah, basically."

Cap at least had the good grace to look abashed. "It...actually slowed me down a bit. The suit couldn't keep up with my movements, which is why I didn't exactly argue with getting the President out of there and leaving it to the rest of you. I would have been more of a hindrance than a help I think."

Tony glowered, mock-glaring at all of them. "I get no respect. Unappreciated in my time."

"Like I said, parts of it were awesome. If you could make that long range sensor package something I could use without the full suit I would take it in a heartbeat."

"Same for those arc powered Widow's Bite bracelets."

"And the shield recall magnets on mine."

Tony looked around as the three spoke, before his eyes sparked, ideas starting to fly. "Okay, compromise. We keep the suits as back-ups, just in case, and you tell me what you liked about them. I'll upgrade your stuff to include as much of it as I can. Sound good? And that includes you, Rhodey. I'm gonna make you a whole new suit. I don't want anything AIM may have managed to sneak in to come back and bite us in the ass. If the DoD doesn't like it, they can bite me."

The others nodded, Rhodey laughing as he did so. "Sounds good to me. After this debacle I don't think they will have any objections."

Bruce spoke up next, and Tony could tell that the other scientist had an idea as well. "If you're going to be building new suits eventually, I do have a thought or two. If you can make something the size of the Iron Brawler and have it function with a human sized pilot anyway."

Tony nodded, turning and catching Pepper's eyes as the doctors continued their tests and sending her a little wave. "I think we can manage that. Alright then, get on out of here, all of you. Get me a list of what you want from the armors. I'm gonna stay here till Pepper is done."

"You sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Relax, Cap. I've got JARVIS with me. Go, get some rest." The others all nodded, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts as Pepper was looked at. Moving to his bag he pulled one of his tablets out, looking at the data load-out from the analysis of Maya's work. "J, give me an update."

" _ **There are still a few terabytes of information that I must compile into usable form, sir, but based on the formula you scribbled on the back of that name-tag, I believe I have an avenue of research to pursue."**_

Tony relaxed a touch, his confidence and bravado about being able to fix the problems with Extremis justified with JARVIS' help. But he then frowned, knowing that he couldn't rush this, needing to get it exactly right. Which meant a lot of testing and retesting in simulations by JARVIS, and a lot of down time for him. "I'm going to need something to do while all these tests are running." He thought back over the battle, seeing in his mind how the armors had fared against the Extremis soldiers, before an idea struck him. "J, bring up a standard armor build set for me?"

" _ **Another armor sir? Should I label this the Mark XLIII then?"**_

"No, just start machining another copy of XLII for me so I can have one just in case it's needed. I'll work out the kinks and upgrade it properly when I get Pepper sorted. No, this is going to be something specific, like the Iron Avengers were."

JARVIS brought up the schematics on Tony's tablets and he began to get to work even as the AI spoke again. _**"And the purpose of this armor?"**_

"Extremis. There's no telling who Killian managed to con into buying it to get more funding to further his research. And they can burn through the armors given enough time. I need something that can take that heat and channel it. Maybe into some kind of power source like the Melter had. But it has to be something that can operate without a pilot if needed. That kind of heat is dangerous. Maybe even have the suit able to surround someone with Extremis and absorb the heat for safe dispersal externally..." Tony trailed off, already going through several ideas and feeling the rush of creating something new coursing through him. "Yeah, let's explore that idea. JARVIS, go ahead and label it Project: Remote Extremis Secure Containment and Use External."

" _ **That's rather a mouthful sir."**_

"That's why, like you my dear Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, we shall be calling it by the acronym. Upload it to the main servers downstairs under the folder name Project: RESCUE."

 **A/N Mark II:** **And done. Boy this chapter was a slog to get through. There are parts of it I'm still not happy with, but I needed them, in order to set up things that will happen in later chapters. Some comics fans in particular may have seen a few things here and there that will make them squee.**

 **There's still a little bit of fallout to come from the events here, such as Tony fixing Pepper and getting rid of the Arc Reactor, that I'm going to be putting my own unique twist on, and then we actually have a fair bit of time that passes between Iron Man 3 and Thor 2. That lets me take a chapter to set up a few more twists and turns that we never saw in the series, but make sense in the context of the MCU.**

 **Now, for the thing I promised to talk about. Betty Ross and what I did to her and Bruce. I actually really like Betty. I like her with Bruce, especially as they were portrayed in the MCU. The woman stood up to her controlling, manipulative father and shoved his words back in his face! That takes courage and heart. I liked her, but, I also needed her to NOT be in the Tower. I need her away from Bruce, because if she was there, just like I had her write, then Thunderbolt Ross would never give them any peace. And I have plans for the "good" General. Oh yes, plans indeed. I've even hinted at one of them in this chapter. Let me know in the reviews if you think you know what it is. Until next time!**

 **Peace and Out,**

 **Pwn Master Paladin.**


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